The National Export Initiative (NEI) announced on Feb. 4 by U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke makes prominent reference to assistance for American small business exporters. Specifically, one of the three key areas of focus will be “improving access to credit with a focus on small- and medium-sized businesses that want to export."

President Obama has called for the Export-Import Bank of the United States (Ex-Im), which provides critical financial support when the private sector is unable or unwilling, to increase its financing support for small business from $4 billion to $6 billion dollars over the next year. Additional money is identified in his 2011 budget to help Ex-Im to administer its expanded efforts.

While on the surface this appears to be good news for Georgia’s active small business exporting community, it begs the question: Will our small businesses see benefits now?

Also, one wonders whether small businesses will have access to the needed tools and capital that will allow them to take advantage of the current weak dollar and to overcome a banking community that naturally has tightened credit availability in the face of crushing financial losses?

The president has directed that within 180 days, the departments in the new Export Cabinet (Commerce, Agriculture, State, the U.S. Trade Representative, the Small Business Administration and Ex-Im) must submit detailed plans on implementation of the NEI. But if the plans aren’t due until late summer, what hope to Georgia exporters have of assistance reaching them anytime in 2010?

Ex-Im Bank, along with the SBA, is certainly able to provide this assistance. In the past fiscal year, Ex-Im provided more than $4.4 billion in direct support to more than 2,500 American small business exporters, including dozens in Georgia.

This 75-year-old U.S. government agency is truly unique in that it is identified as a “self-sustaining” agency. Such a government entity is expected to operate without allocation of any budget funds. Ex-Im, which needed only $73 million to cover its total administrative costs last year, produced a surplus over costs of over $200 million.

Ex-Im, operating with fewer than 50 underwriters supporting its small business efforts, has been able to approve another $1 billion in small business support since Oct. 1. But in order to reach the goals set by the president, more resources are needed to push through the credit approvals that are the lifeblood of our American small business exporters.

At the least, Georgia’s congressional delegation should be urging that Ex-Im immediately bolster the underwriting resources that deliver these financial products used by small business.

The products that are needed are in place. The organizational structure is in place. The financial resources are available in view of Ex-Im operations that generate surpluses.

Small business exporters’ needs can be met, if the will is there. Add capacity to that will, now, and Georgia products will increasingly find their way to foreign buyers, maintaining or increasing Georgia jobs in the process.

John A. Emens is executive director of CFS International Capital Corp., a lender to small business exporters nationwide. He is a former senior vice president at the Ex-Im and a current member of the Northern Georgia District Export Council.

Mr. Emens may be reached by calling (678) 427-3229 or by email at jemens@xportmanager.com.

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