Export Promotion Act of 2012

Bill: 112-s-2171
Sponsor: Sen. Pryor, Mark L. [D-AR]
Introduced: 2012-03-07 in the Senate
Policy area: Foreign Trade and International Finance
Subjects: Administrative law and regulatory procedures
Competitiveness, trade promotion, trade deficits
Congressional oversight
Department of State
Diplomacy, foreign officials, Americans abroad
Government studies and investigations
Performance measurement
Presidents and presidential powers, Vice Presidents

Summary:
action_date: 2012-03-07
text: 
Export Promotion Act of 2012 - Amends the Export Enhancement Act of 1988 to revise the duties of the Trade Promotion Coordinating Committee (TPCC). 
 
Requires the TPCC to: (1) make a recommendation for the annual unified federal trade promotion budget to the President; and (2) review the proposed fiscal year budget of each federal agency with responsibility for export promotion or export financing activities before it is submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and the President, when (as required by current law) assessing the appropriate levels and allocation of resources among such agencies in support of such activities.
 
Requires the governmentwide strategic plan for federal trade promotion efforts, in conducting the review of current federal programs designed to promote the sale of U.S. exports and developing a plan to bring such activities into line with specified priorities, to be based on consultations with, and recommendations from, a representative number of U.S. exporters and other types of export-related businesses. 
 
Requires such plan, furthermore, to: (1) identify countries with which the United States could negotiate trade agreements to increase U.S. exports; (2) identify areas in which the TPCC can maximize existing partnerships with agencies by granting the TPCC the ability to partner with a partner of a TPCC member agency without requiring an additional memorandum of understanding between the TPCC and that partner; (3) review and propose means to improve educational outreach to small- and medium-sized businesses with respect to the resources available through the TPCC and its member agencies, including consulting with, and considering recommendations from, U.S. exporters and the Small Business Administration (SBA); and (4) clearly describe the role of each TPCC member agency and its responsibility for export promotion and export financing.
 
Requires the TPCC to coordinate with TPCC member agencies to publish export promotion and export financing information on the Export.gov website.
 
Directs the President to issue an executive order and necessary regulations to provide the TPCC chairperson with the authority to ensure that the TPCC carries out each of its duties and develops and implements the strategic plan.
 
Requires the Secretary of Commerce to: (1) conduct at least once every five years a global assessment of overseas markets to identify those with the greatest potential for increasing U.S. exports, and (2) redeploy U.S. and Foreign Commercial Service personnel and other resources on the basis of that assessment.
 
Amends the Foreign Service Act of 1980 to require each chief of mission to a foreign country to develop an approved plan for effective diplomacy to remove or reduce obstacles to exports of U.S. goods and services.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2012-03-07
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.
action_date: 2012-03-07
text: Introduced in Senate