Pryor bringing export jobs to Arkansas

U.S. Senator Mark Pryor announced a $570,000 grant to boost Arkansas’s small business efforts to increase exports, particularly to China and Southeast Asia.

Pryor said the initiative will significantly expand the Arkansas World Trade Center’s outreach efforts to small businesses and agricultural producers, and help interested parties identify new global markets for their products and services. Increased exports are expected to increase job growth, boost state revenue, and impact the current trade deficit positively.

“The U.S. can outpace its global competitors if we can better identify and promote our goods and services, which is where the Arkansas World Trade Center comes in play.” Pryor said. “These funds will provide a springboard for many of our state’s businesses and producers to enter new markets or expand their current export business. As a result, I think we’ll see new jobs created, new opportunities for growth, and new revenue.”

The State Trade and Export Promotion Program (STEP) grant program was established in the Small Business Jobs Act of 2010. It is a three-year pilot trade and export initiative designed to increase the number of small business exports. The STEP grants will help provide support for small business participation in foreign trade missions and markets, trade show exhibitions, training workshops, and other export initiatives approved by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA). The program is expected to increase the number of small businesses that are exporting and raise the value of exports for small businesses that are currently exporting so they can grow and create jobs.