I 
116TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 5203 
To establish the Rural Export Center, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
NOVEMBER 20, 2019 
Mr. PETERSON (for himself and Mr. ARMSTRONG) introduced the following 
bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs 
A BILL 
To establish the Rural Export Center, and for other 
purposes. 
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 ‘‘Promoting Rural Ex-
ports Act of 2019’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
(1) Rural businesses are often located far from 
information clusters and major transportation cor-
ridors. 
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(2) Because of their location, rural businesses 
face higher barriers to accessing international mar-
kets. 
(3) A dedicated Rural Export Center within the 
United States and Foreign Commercial Service pro-
viding business- and product-specific support can 
help companies in the United States looking to ex-
port their products. 
SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF THE RURAL EXPORT CENTER. 
(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
(1) ASSISTANT SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Assist-
ant Secretary’’ means the Assistant Secretary of 
Commerce and Director General of the United 
States and Foreign Commercial Service appointed 
pursuant to section 2301(a)(2) of the Export En-
hancement Act of 1988 (15 U.S.C. 4721(a)(2)). 
(2) COMMERCIAL SERVICE.—The term ‘‘Com-
mercial Service’’ means the United States and For-
eign Commercial Service established under section 
2301(a)(1) of the Export Enhancement Act of 1988 
(15 U.S.C. 4721(a)(1)). 
(b) ESTABLISHMENT OF THE RURAL EXPORT CEN-
TER.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after 
the date of the enactment of this Act, the Assistant 
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Secretary shall establish a Rural Export Center (in 
this section referred to as the ‘‘Center’’) for the pur-
pose of providing businesses located in rural areas in 
the United States with resources to help those busi-
nesses export their products. 
(2) LOCATION OF THE CENTER.— 
(A) IN GENERAL.—The Center shall be es-
tablished at an office of the Commercial Service 
in the United States in existence before the 
date of the enactment of this Act. 
(B) CRITERIA
FOR
SELECTING
LOCA-
TION.—In selecting a location for the Center, 
the Assistant Secretary shall give preference— 
(i) based on expertise and operations 
at Commercial Service offices that support 
rural businesses exporting to new markets 
before the date of the enactment of this 
Act; and 
(ii) to such offices not located in 
major metropolitan areas. 
(C) LOCATION OF STAFF.—Any researcher 
or staff directly supporting the operation of the 
Center shall be primarily based at the Center. 
(c) EXPORT CENTER OPERATIONS.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Center shall— 
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(A) provide in-depth, customized, and ac-
tionable market research services that— 
(i) a business may opt into based on 
need; and 
(ii) are— 
(I) focused on actionable and 
measurable results for a business; 
(II) business- and product-spe-
cific; 
(III) targeted to not more than 3 
international markets; 
(IV) based on high-quality data, 
including 
data 
from 
international 
trade association subscription data-
bases; and 
(V) based on market analysis and 
export services of the Commercial 
Service available before the date of 
the enactment of this Act, including 
the Rural America’s Intelligence Serv-
ice for Exporters program; and 
(B) conduct strategic planning and export 
support services for rural businesses as needed. 
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(2) MEASURE OF EFFECTIVENESS.—To meas-
ure the effectiveness of the Center, the Center shall 
collect and make available data on— 
(A) the number of businesses that sign up 
for market research assistance; 
(B) the number of export assistance serv-
ices a business engages in following the re-
search assistance, including— 
(i) trade shows; 
(ii) trade missions; and 
(iii) other services facilitated by the 
Center; and 
(C) the total monetary value of exports fa-
cilitated by the services provided by the Center. 
(3) WEBSITE FOR THE CENTER.—The Center 
shall maintain an internet website that includes— 
(A) data collected by the Center; 
(B) best practices for rural businesses be-
ginning to evaluate export opportunities; and 
(C) appropriate contact information for 
staff at the Center. 
Æ 
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