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May 2007 — Vol. 85, No. 4
International trade survey
More businesses would export
if not for barriers
Awareness of helpful resources key to success
International trade is critical for businesses to be competitive. While many state companies export, even more could be benefiting from global trade if they didn’t face barriers, including a lack of knowledge about available export programs and assistance.
These are among the key findings of the CBIA International Trade Survey, commissioned by the state Department of Economic and Community Development (DECD) and sponsored by Haggett Longobardi LLC.
Of the 447 companies responding, 35% export to foreign markets; 82% of those have been doing so at least five years. While 65% said they were not involved in global trade, half of those expressed an interest in exporting.
Exporters’ concerns
Nearly half (47%) of respondents said their greatest concern regarding the global marketplace is cost competition, while 12% said loss of intellectual property, and 10% cited unfair trade practices.
Other barriers include trade barriers/regulatory disparities (24%), global competitiveness (23%), limited company resources (20%) and lack of knowledge about international trade (16%).
Businesses are also concerned about the capabilities of their future workforce. Nearly two-thirds of respondents (62%) said educational initiatives promoting science and technology were at least somewhat important to increasing U.S. competitiveness in the global marketplace. Sixty-six percent said it is important to make sure their employees are aware of foreign cultures and customs, and 5% said training employees in this area is important.
Many unaware of existing help
Government services are available to help small-to-midsize firms become more involved in foreign trade, something 59% of survey respondents were unaware of. For example, 39% didn’t know about the DECD’s export programs and resources, while 36% said they were somewhat familiar with them.
Of those respondents who knew about existing programs, 56% said the export financing and guarantee programs available would not help them get involved in trade. Respondents said the services that could most help them are manufacturing-specific market research (38%) and international market research (33%). Of those who have participated in DECD programs, 17% said the ones they most often used were DECD-sponsored trade shows.
Improving awareness
CBIA is working with the U.S. Department of Commerce and the DECD to let current and potential exporters know about available help. Planned activities include:
- Developing Web links to the types of information identified by survey respondents, which will be e-mailed to all survey participants
- Creating a streaming Web broadcast that will be e-mailed to all actual and potential exporters
- Detailing online the assistance available to help companies export in international markets
- Holding a series of briefings over the next few months on the survey results
In the meantime, you can look for export information and resources on CBIA’s Web site. Also see information on WISERTrade, a detailed database on export markets.
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