“A bill to establish rural export centers, and for other purposes.”
No CRS summary available for this bill.
This section states the following congressional findings: (1) rural businesses are often located far from information clusters and major transportation corridors; (2) such locations create higher barriers for rural businesses to access international markets; and (3) a dedicated National Rural Export Center within the United States and Foreign Commercial Service, along with regional rural export centers providing business- and product-specific support, can assist U.S. companies seeking to export products.
This section directs the Assistant Secretary of Commerce and Director General of the United States and Foreign Commercial Service—established under 15 U.S.C. 4721 to promote U.S. exports, particularly by small- and medium-sized businesses—to establish (1) a National Rural Export Center within 180 days of enactment at an existing domestic Commercial Service office (preferring those with prior rural export expertise and outside major metropolitan areas), with staff primarily based there; and (2) not more than 9 subordinate regional rural export centers within one year of enactment. The centers must provide rural businesses with opt-in, customized market research (business- and product-specific, using high-quality data and building on the existing Rural Export Center Research Program) and strategic export support services; track effectiveness via data on assisted businesses, subsequent services used (e.g., trade shows, missions), and facilitated export value; and maintain websites with such data, export best practices, and staff contacts.