I 
114TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2543 
To establish a State Trade and Export Promotion Grant Program. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MAY 21, 2015 
Mr. LARSEN of Washington (for himself and Mr. REICHERT) introduced the 
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Small Business 
A BILL 
To establish a State Trade and Export Promotion Grant 
Program. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘State Trade and Ex-
port Promotion Utilization Program for American Small 
Businesses Act’’ or the ‘‘STEP UP for American Small 
Businesses Act’’. 
SEC. 2. STATE TRADE AND EXPORT PROMOTION. 
Section 22 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 652) 
is amended— 
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(1) by redesignating subsection (l) as subsection 
(m); and 
(2) by inserting after subsection (k) the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(l) STATE TRADE AND EXPORT PROMOTION GRANT 
PROGRAM.— 
‘‘(1) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection— 
‘‘(A) the term ‘eligible small business con-
cern’ means a business concern that— 
‘‘(i) is organized or incorporated; 
‘‘(ii) is operating in the United States; 
‘‘(iii) meets— 
‘‘(I) the applicable industry-based 
small business size standard estab-
lished under section 3; or 
‘‘(II) the alternate size standard 
applicable to the program under sec-
tion 7(a) of this Act and the loan pro-
grams under title V of the Small 
Business Investment Act of 1958 (15 
U.S.C. 695 et seq.); 
‘‘(iv) has been in business for not less 
than 1 year, as of the date on which assist-
ance using a grant under this subsection 
commences; 
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‘‘(v) is export ready, as determined by 
the Associate Administrator; and 
‘‘(vi) has access to sufficient resources 
to bear the costs associated with exporting 
and doing business with foreign pur-
chasers, including the costs of packing, 
shipping, freight forwarding, and customs 
brokers; 
‘‘(B) the term ‘program’ means the State 
Trade and Export Promotion Grant Program 
established under paragraph (2); 
‘‘(C) the term ‘rural small business con-
cern’ means an eligible small business concern 
located in a rural area, as that term is defined 
in section 1393(a)(2) of the Internal Revenue 
Code of 1986; 
‘‘(D) the term ‘socially and economically 
disadvantaged small business concern’ has the 
meaning given that term in section 8(a)(4)(A) 
of 
the 
Small 
Business 
Act 
(15 
U.S.C. 
637(a)(4)(A)); and 
‘‘(E) the term ‘State’ means each of the 
several States, the District of Columbia, the 
Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Virgin Is-
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lands, Guam, the Commonwealth of the North-
ern Mariana Islands, and American Samoa. 
‘‘(2) ESTABLISHMENT OF PROGRAM.—The As-
sociate Administrator shall establish a trade and ex-
port promotion grant program, to be known as the 
‘State Trade and Export Promotion Grant Pro-
gram’, to make grants to States to carry out export 
programs that assist eligible small business concerns 
in— 
‘‘(A) participation in a foreign trade mis-
sion; 
‘‘(B) a foreign market sales trip; 
‘‘(C) a subscription to services provided by 
the Department of Commerce; 
‘‘(D) the payment of website translation 
fees; 
‘‘(E) the design of international marketing 
media; 
‘‘(F) a trade show exhibition; 
‘‘(G) participation in training workshops; 
‘‘(H) a reverse trade mission; 
‘‘(I) procurement of foreign consultancy 
services (after consultation with the Depart-
ment of Commerce to avoid duplication); or 
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‘‘(J) any other export initiative determined 
appropriate by the Associate Administrator. 
‘‘(3) GRANTS.— 
‘‘(A) JOINT REVIEW.—In carrying out the 
program, the Associate Administrator may 
make a grant to a State to increase the number 
of eligible small business concerns in the State 
that export and to increase the value of the ex-
ports by eligible small business concerns in the 
State. 
‘‘(B) 
CONSIDERATIONS.—In 
making 
grants under this subsection, the Associate Ad-
ministrator may give priority to an application 
by a State that proposes an export program 
that— 
‘‘(i) focuses on eligible small business 
concerns as part of an export promotion 
program; 
‘‘(ii) demonstrates intent to promote 
exports by— 
‘‘(I) socially and economically 
disadvantaged small business con-
cerns; 
‘‘(II) small business concerns 
owned or controlled by women; and 
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‘‘(III) rural small business con-
cerns; 
‘‘(iii) promotes exports from a State 
that is not 1 of the 10 States with the 
highest percentage of exporters that are el-
igible small business concerns, based upon 
the most recent data available from the 
Department of Commerce; and 
‘‘(iv) includes— 
‘‘(I) activities which have re-
sulted in the highest return on invest-
ment based on the most recent year; 
and 
‘‘(II) the adoption of shared best 
practices included in the annual re-
port of the Administration. 
‘‘(C) LIMITATIONS.— 
‘‘(i) SINGLE
APPLICATION.—A State 
may not submit more than 1 application 
for a grant under the program in any 1 
fiscal year. 
‘‘(ii) PROPORTION OF AMOUNTS.—The 
total value of grants made under the pro-
gram during a fiscal year to the 10 States 
with the highest percentage of exporters 
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that are eligible small business concerns, 
based upon the most recent data available 
from the Department of Commerce, shall 
be not more than 40 percent of the 
amounts appropriated for the program for 
that fiscal year. 
‘‘(iii) DURATION.—The Associate Ad-
ministrator shall award a grant under this 
program for a period of not more than 2 
years. 
‘‘(D) APPLICATION.— 
‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—A State desiring a 
grant under the program shall submit an 
application at such time, in such manner, 
and accompanied by such information as 
the Associate Administrator may establish. 
‘‘(ii) CONSULTATION TO REDUCE DU-
PLICATION.—A State desiring a grant 
under the program shall— 
‘‘(I) before submitting an appli-
cation under clause (i), consult with 
applicable trade agencies of the Fed-
eral Government on the scope and 
mission of the activities the State pro-
poses to carry out using the grant, to 
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