Cantwell Vows Permanent STEP Program Reauthorization Bill to Industry Applause
The State Trade and Export Promotion (STEP) Grant is a critical lifeline for small businesses to expand exports to new markets abroad, said Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship Chairwoman Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., during a June 18 hearing. Cantwell vowed to introduce legislation to reauthorize the program. The STEP program’s authorization expired at the end of fiscal year (FY) 2013, but the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2014, signed into law on Jan. 17 appropriated $8 million for the program in FY14.
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The grant program was initially signed into law as a pilot program with a three-year lifespan. Reauthorization legislation will make the program permanent, said Cantwell to the praise of industry witnesses at the hearing. The program matches industry funds for new export opportunities and provides instruction on ways to infiltrate markets, said witness Donald Tyler, managing director of Corfin Industries, a robotic hot solder dipping services provider. “Corfin’s non-domestic sales is a significant component of our overall growth,” said Tyler in written testimony. “International sales increased from less than two percent of our overall revenue three years ago to over twelve percent today, all while expanding overall revenue almost 30%. The non-domestic growth corresponds to twenty-two additional full-time employees; a direct result of the STEP grant funding.”
The STEP funds also provide small business the opportunity to market products at trade shows globally, such as JEC Paris and Hamburg Aircraft Interiors Show, said General Plastics Vice President of Organizational Development Eric Hahn. “We gained approximately $100,000 in new sales that are directly attributed to the shows,” said Hahn in written testimony. “More importantly, we are now in negotiation discussions with Airbus’ Tier 1 and Tier 2 suppliers, and a major European marine company that will sell our subsea foam products under their private label. These two companies alone could generate sales -- estimated conservatively -- of $1 million-plus for General Plastics over the next 2-3 years.”