Armstrong, Pappas Introduce the Promoting Rural Exports Act

WASHINGTON – Today, Congressmen Kelly Armstrong (R-ND) and Chris Pappas (D-NH) introduced the Promoting Rural Exports Act. This bill formally establishes the Rural Export Center under U.S. Commercial Services, which will help rural businesses access international markets and work to increase their exports.

"The Rural Export Center will help rural businesses across North Dakota find the data and tools they need to reach international markets with their products,"said Congressman Armstrong. "With the right resources, rural businesses can compete on a global scale while creating jobs right here at home. This bipartisan bill is a win for small businesses and rural communities, and I am proud to support it."

"Small businesses are the backbone of our economy in New Hampshire; however, many of our rural businesses face unique challenges," said Congressman Pappas. "With 95% of the world's consumers living outside the United States, it's vital that rural small businesses have the tools and support they need to export their products and take advantage of a global marketplace. That's why the bipartisan Promoting Rural Exports Act is so important and why I'm pleased to help introduce it today. I remain committed to working in a bipartisan fashion to help our rural Main Street businesses boost their exports and experience the benefits of being fully part of the 21st-century economy."

Key Provisions of the Promoting Rural Exports Act are:

• Directs the Assistant Secretary of Commerce to establish a Rural Export Center at the U.S. Commercial Service to help rural businesses export their products;
• Requires the Rural Export Center to be centrally located and not in a major metropolitan area;
• Directs the Rural Export Center to provide customized market research services to help rural businesses target their exports;
• Directs the Rural Export Center to conduct strategic planning and export support services for rural businesses; and
• Requires the Center to make data relating to its effectiveness publicly available on its website.

"The Promoting Rural Exports Act of 2021 creates a national Rural Export Center program in North Dakota - a rural state - to provide rural companies an opportunity to secure in-depth market research in targeted countries on potential export clients without having to invest lots of time and thousands of dollars to travel to those countries by themselves. For most rural companies to grow, they need market intelligence to target countries and secure new international customers,"saidBruce Gjovig, CEO Emeritus, UND Center for Innovation Foundation

"Sea Foam Sales Company is a Minnesota company based in Chaska, MN. The company has been in existence since 1942. Its flagship product, Sea Foam Motor Treatment, has for many years enjoyed being one of the besting selling fuel additives in North America. Sea Foam International, Inc. is a North Dakota corporation based in Bismarck, ND. It was formed and tasked with taking Sea Foam products into foreign markets. It has been a fun, challenging, and sometimes dizzying task. While all of us at Sea Foam-U.S. and Sea Foam International love the Midwest, being here does present unique barriers in accessing international markets. Quality data key to making informed decisions on entering foreign markets is hard to obtain and very expensive. It is extremely time-consuming just figuring out what data sources exist, much less subscribing to them for the time needed to analyze a particular market. The proposed [Promoting Rural Exports] Act would consolidate all of that into a great resource for rural businesses. And while the services we received from the USCS are great, it would be very helpful to have even more detailed data, customized to exactly what we need. I see the Act provides for that,"saidMichael Wagner, JD, CEO, Sea Foam Sales, Sea Foam International

"As the CEO/President of a rural North Dakota international small business and Chairman of the ND District Export Council, I whole heartedly support the Promoting Rural Exports Act of 2021 also referred to as R.A.I.S.E. This kind of assistance and encouragement to effectively identify and to secure new business in foreign markets is tremendously valuable. In fact, the U.S. Commercial Service office in ND has provided similar services for us as a part of our participation in a past Export-Tech program. Today, our business generates as much as 60% of its total revenues from customers located outside of the United States. We ship product to over twenty countries. We are a business that would employ 60% less people if it were not able to effectively find and sell to globally. The Promoting Rural Exports Act of 2021 will not only help WCCO continue to identify emerging market opportunities but will also show other North Dakota rural businesses new to exporting that international expansion is an obtainable goal. North Dakota is widely considered a rural state that is full of people who are ready and willing to accept the challenge of competing in a global marketplace. The Promoting Rural Exports Act / R.A.I.S.E. program is just the tool to accelerate and guarantee cost effective exporting success," said Thomas D. Shorma, WCCO Belting, Inc. (Wahpeton, North Dakota)

The RAISE program allowed for a small business like AgTS to act like a large company in market research aspects. AgTS has business development personnel but we all have at least 3 other roles within the company. There was no way we would have been able to manage a project like this without hiring an expert,"said Rita Castonguay-Hunt – Argentech, (Concord, New Hampshire).

Companion legislation has been introduced in the Senate by Senators John Hoeven (R-ND), Kevin Cramer (R-ND), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), and Tina Smith (D-MN).

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