USC Subchapter I

in effect

15 U.S.C. § 4001 Congressional findings and declaration of purpose

(a) The Congress finds that—(1) United States exports are responsible for creating and maintaining one out of every nine manufacturing jobs in the United States and for generating one out of every seven dollars of total United States goods produced; (2) the rapidly growing service-related industries are vital to the well-being of the United States economy inasmuch as they create jobs for seven out of every ten Americans, provide 65 per centum of the Nation’s gross national product, and offer the greatest potential for significantly increased industrial trade involving finished products; (3) trade deficits contribute to the decline of the dollar on international currency markets and have an inflationary impact on the United States economy; (4) tens of thousands of small- and medium-sized United States businesses produce exportable goods or services but do not engage in exporting; (5) although the United States is the world’s leading agricultural exporting nation, many farm products are not marketed as widely and effectively abroad as they could be through export trading companies; (6) export trade services in the United States are fragmented into a multitude of separate functions, and companies attempting to offer export trade services lack financial leverage to reach a significant number of potential United States exporters; (7) the United States needs well-developed export trade intermediaries which can achieve economies of scale and acquire expertise enabling them to export goods and services profitably, at low per unit cost to producers; (8) the development of export trading companies in the United States has been hampered by business attitudes and by Government regulations; (9) those activities of State and local governmental authorities which initiate, facilitate, or expand exports of goods and services can be an important source for expansion of total United States exports, as well as for experimentation in the development of innovative export programs keyed to local, State, and regional economic needs; (10) if United States trading companies are to be successful in promoting United States exports and in competing with foreign trading companies, they should be able to draw on the resources, expertise, and knowledge of the United States banking system, both in the United States and abroad; and (11) the Department of Commerce is responsible for the development and promotion of United States exports, and especially for facilitating the export of finished products by United States manufacturers. (b) It is the purpose of this chapter to increase United States exports of products and services by encouraging more efficient provision of export trade services to United States producers and suppliers, in particular by establishing an office within the Department of Commerce to promote the formation of export trade associations and export trading companies, by permitting bank holding companies, bankers’ banks, and Edge Act corporations and agreement corporations that are subsidiaries of bank holding companies to invest in export trading companies, by reducing restrictions on trade financing provided by financial institutions, and by modifying the application of the antitrust laws to certain export trade.

15 U.S.C. § 4002 Definitions

(a) For purposes of this subchapter—(1) the term “export trade” means trade or commerce in goods or services produced in the United States which are exported, or in the course of being exported, from the United States to any other country; (2) the term “services” includes, but is not limited to, accounting, amusement, architectural, automatic data processing, business, communications, construction franchising and licensing, consulting, engineering, financial, insurance, legal, management, repair, tourism, training, and transportation services; (3) the term “export trade services” includes, but is not limited to, consulting, international market research, advertising, marketing, insurance, product research and design, legal assistance, transportation, including trade documentation and freight forwarding, communication and processing of foreign orders to and for exporters and foreign purchasers, warehousing, foreign exchange, financing, and taking title to goods, when provided in order to facilitate the export of goods or services produced in the United States; (4) the term “export trading company” means a person, partnership, association, or similar organization, whether operated for profit or as a nonprofit organization, which does business under the laws of the United States or any State and which is organized and operated principally for purposes of—(A) exporting goods or services produced in the United States; or (B) facilitating the exportation of goods or services produced in the United States by unaffiliated persons by providing one or more export trade services; (5) the term “State” means any of the several States of the United States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands; (6) the term “United States” means the several States of the United States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands; and (7) the term “antitrust laws” means the antitrust laws as defined in section 12(a) of this title, section 45 of this title to the extent that section 45 of this title applies to unfair methods of competition, and any State antitrust or unfair competition law. (b) The Secretary of Commerce may by regulation further define any term defined in subsection (a), in order to carry out this subchapter.

15 U.S.C. § 4003 Office of Export Trade in Department of Commerce

The Secretary of Commerce shall establish within the Department of Commerce an office to promote and encourage to the greatest extent feasible the formation of export trade associations and export trading companies. Such office shall provide information and advice to interested persons and shall provide a referral service to facilitate contact between producers of exportable goods and services and firms offering export trade services. The office shall establish a program to encourage and assist the operation of other export intermediaries, including existing and newly formed export management companies.