Exporting is the life blood of the U.S. economy. When more money flows into the country than flows out, the nation flourishes. When more money flows out than flows in, the economy struggles.
Up until 1970, the U.S. was a net export nation. That year, it sold almost $57 billion worth of goods and services overseas, and imported only $54 billion worth of goods and services, creating a net export value of almost $3 billion.
Since 1970, however, the U.S. has been a net importing nation, with the gap becoming larger almost every year through 2006. That year, which represented the peak of the gap, the nation exported not quite $1.5 trillion worth of goods and services, but imported $2.2 trillion, a deficit of over $700 billion.
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Since 2006, though, the trend has begun to reverse, with exports of $2.3 trillion in 2013 (50 percent greater than in 2006), and imports of $2.8 trillion, a gap of approximately $500 billion.
There is a concerted effort in the U.S. to continue to grow exports, with the goal of once again becoming a net exporting nation. It is a worthwhile effort. According to the National Small Business Association (NSBA), 70 percent of the world's purchasing power and almost 95 percent of its consumers are located outside of the U.S.
Several government agencies focus on export initiatives on a full-time basis, and large corporations have separate departments devoted exclusively to exporting.
Small businesses are also interested in sharing in the bounty. However, without the internal expertise and resources available to them, they are often forced to rely on the Federal government for assistance.
Such assistance continues to be made available. A January 14, 2015, press release from the NSBA reported on a White House Business Council Trade Fly-In that was held the day before. The purpose of the meeting, which included U.S. Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker, Small Business Administration Administrator Maria Contreras-Sweet, Deputy U.S. Trade Representative Robert Holleyman, Chairman and President of the Export Import Bank Fred Hochberg, and other senior administration officials, was to discuss how international trade affects small businesses in the U.S.
During the meeting, officials spent a substantial amount of time highlighting two significant trade agreements that the administration is currently negotiating. One is the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), which involves negotiations with 11 countries in the Asia-Pacific region. The other is the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (T-TIP), which involves negotiations with members of the European Union.
According to the NSBA press release, these two agreements, if they come to fruition, would cover 60 percent of U.S. exports and 84 percent of foreign direct investment.
As a way to help these initiatives succeed, President Obama is asking Congress to reauthorize the President's Trade Promotion Authority (TPA), which would allow him to enter into reciprocal trade agreements and would require that legislation for implementing the agreement be considered on a defined timeline.
According to the NSBA press release, both Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) and House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-Wisc.) have indicated that passing TPA legislation will be a top priority for the new Congress.
The briefing also allowed administration officials to hear directly from small business leaders who are exporting goods and services, and find out what challenges they are facing in accessing new markets.
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