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VICE PRESIDENT GORE AND SBA
ADMINISTRATOR ALVAREZ ANNOUNCE
TRADENET: ‘ONE-STOP’
ONLINE EXPORT ASSISTANCE
Washington, DC – Vice President Al Gore and Small Business
Administration Administrator Aida Alvarez announced today a new
online resource to help small firms. TradeNet's Export Advisor www.tradenet.gov
is a new SBA-led, interagency Internet site designed to
provide ‘one-stop’ access to international trade information
for America’s small businesses.
"The Export Advisor will provide small exporters with a
‘one-stop shop’ of information and services needed to
succeed in today’s increasingly global economy," Vice
President Gore said. "The Small Business Administration
clearly understands that prosperity in the 21st
century requires us to both engage the world and take advantage
of the opportunities afforded to us in the Information
Age."
"The number of small businesses that export has tripled
in the last decade," SBA Administrator Aida Alvarez said.
"Small businesses now account for almost a third of all
U.S. export sales. Nearly 97 percent of U.S. firms that export
are small businesses. TradeNet's Export Advisor will be an
invaluable resource in keeping small businesses in the exporting
game."
The new website provides access to a wide range of trade
information from government and industry, including:
- Export market research
- Export laws
- Business opportunities
- Research tools
- Financing information
- Federal forms
- Trade shows and events
"E-Commerce has helped level the playing field for small
businesses
in the global market place," Administrator Alvarez said.
"Now, we’re using the Internet to give them ‘one-stop’
access to export information."
The Government Information Technology Services (GITS) Board
funded the development of TradeNet's Export Advisor. SBA's
federal partners in the website include the Department of
Commerce, the Export-Import Bank, the Department of Agriculture’s
Foreign Agricultural Service, and the Agency for International
Development.
The U.S. Small Business Administration, established in 1953,
provides financial, technical and management assistance to help
Americans start, run, and grow their businesses. With a
portfolio of business loans, loan guarantees and disaster loans
worth more than $45 billion, the SBA is the nation's largest
single financial backer of small businesses. Last year, the SBA
offered management and technical assistance to more than one
million small business owners. The SBA also plays a major role
in the government’s disaster relief efforts by making
low-interest recovery loans to both homeowners and businesses.
America’s 23 million small businesses employ more than 50
percent of the private workforce, generate more than half of the
nation’s gross domestic product, and are the principal source
of new jobs in the U.S. economy.
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