Going Global:How Uncle Sam Can Help

This article shows how the Government wants to help small businesses not only sell their goods in the United States, but world wide. There are many loan-guarantee programs and insurance programs which help small businesses push forward. One example given is:

Paul Ibanez owns Anco Engineers of Boulder, Colo. Paul's company produces shake tables. Shake tables are "machines that simulate earthquakes to test the structural integrity of small-scale building models." In 2004 Paul received an offer from a Romanian government agency for $1.1 million. To produce a table it cost Anco Engineers $600,000. Half of this he needed to borrow. As Paul went to different big banks to pull a $300,000 loan the banks seemed to procrastinate a lot. After weeks of waiting the banks came back with a negative response and the ones that would give the loan were charging incredibly high fees.

Finally Paul Ibanez went to the Small Business Administration whom guaranteed loans for businesses involved with trade to different countries. Paul describes how the Small Business Administration worked fast in finding him a private lender with good rates, getting him his loan quickly.

The North American Free Trade Agreement talks exactly about this, giving small businesses the loans they need to trade internationally. It claims that foreign trade means a lot to the United States economy. $300 Billion in small to medium-size exports make up part of the economy yearly. A lot of small businesses are pushed away from foreign trade as they know not what to do. This is where the Small Business Administration comes in by setting up 108 Export Assistance Centers throughout the United States. The Government also provides excellent insurance that covers up to 90% of loan. In some cases, businesses whom have customers on credit from abroad can receive up to 95% coverage and the money owed to them with no deductible.

As always, there are people whom disapprove of the government supporting small businesses. Small businesses are supposed to make up 20% of total international trade and according to some members of congress that percentage has not been reached in past years. Despite critics small businesses look forward to the help of the government's global trade programs. Anco Engineers claims that the Small Business Administration "saved" them.

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