Helping Small Businesses Create Jobs

Helping Small Businesses Create Jobs

Washington, May 17 - WASHINGTON, DC - I recently helped organize two local conferences to give small and mid-sized businesses the tools they need to increase sales overseas. I initiated the idea of having these conferences because our local economy and our jobs here in southern Ohio benefit greatly from increased exports.

Larger companies tend to be already selling to these international markets-where ninety-five percent of the world's consumers are. Small and mid-sized businesses sometimes need more help and information to be able to take advantage of the increased revenue and jobs that can come from selling products or services overseas. And even among those smaller companies that do export, nearly two-thirds of them sell to only one foreign market, which means there is great potential for more growth and job creation.

Exports have become a key to economic growth. U.S. exports accounted for a significant share of the economic growth we experienced in the 1990s and they are helping fuel the recent recovery. U.S. exports increased from $57 billion in 1970 to $1.01 trillion in 2003 -- an increase of nearly 10 percent per year. Exports mean jobs. About one of every five factory jobs and over 12 million U.S. jobs in all depend upon exports. Exports mean higher wages. Workers in jobs supported by exports receive wages 13 to 18 percent higher than the national average. High tech industry jobs supported by exports pay even more.

Thousands of Ohio workers depend on trade agreements that enable Ohio-made products to compete in markets around the world. Since the enactment of NAFTA in 1994, Ohio's exports to Mexico have tripled, and last year, exports to Mexico totaled more than two billion dollars. In fact, since the end of 2000, Ohio's exports have increased more than any state in the country.

Lots of local companies attended these two conferences. At the conference in Cincinnati, hosted by the U.S. Department of Commerce, I was able to present Export Achievement Awards to four local companies. The award recognizes successful exporters who have used the export services of the U.S. Department of Commerce's Commercial Service to make their first export sale or open new foreign markets.

One of the award recipients was Overhoff Technology Corporation from Batavia. The workers at Overhoff manufacture radiation testing equipment. The company has received export counseling, export working capital, and other services from the Cincinnati U.S. Export Assistance Center. Overhoff has seen its sales increase by finding markets for its products in France, Argentina, United Kingdom and Canada.

At the other conference, hosted by the Ohio Valley Regional Development Commission (OVRDC), in Portsmouth, Ohio, small and mid-sized businesses were given information on federal government procurement and overseas sales. One of the attendees was O.C., Inc. of Waverly, Ohio, a producer of wood chips for the beverage, wine, landscaping and paper industries. O.C., Inc. was able to tell other companies how the Department of Commerce and OVRDC helped them find foreign buyers and work through foreign regulatory requirements. If you have an interest in learning more about how to access foreign markets, you should call the Commerce Department Export Assistance Center at 513-684-2944.

Selling more of our products in new foreign markets keeps U.S. workers employed in good jobs. Small and mid-sized companies are the backbone of our local economy, and I am committed to do what I can to help these businesses and their workers sell more overseas.

Your comments are welcome. Please contact Representative Rob Portman at 8044 Montgomery Road, Room 540, Cincinnati, Ohio, 45236, 175 East Main Street, Batavia, Ohio, 45103, or at 601 Chillicothe Street, Portsmouth, Ohio, 45662. Feel free to call 1-800-784-6366. Rob's e-mail address is PORTMAIL@mail.house.gov and his Internet address is

Source