E-Commerce Could Open World to Minority, Small Businesses

With a little help from the U.S. government, one Illinois congressman says, tiny U.S. farmers could become players in the global e-commerce market.

Rep. Donald Manzullo, a Republican member of the International Relations Committee and the Small Business Committee, is pushing the Export Enhancement Act of 1999, a measure that would boost small businesses onto the Internet as a way of improving the country's overall export economy.

H.R.1993, introduced late last month and referred to the International Relations Committee for review, would require the Department of Commerce's International Trade Administration to get more aggressive in encouraging small businesses to use e-commerce to expand. The measure also addresses broader export issues and would set budget allocations for U.S. government agencies' export initiatives for next year.

To address rural businesses, the bill urges the ITA to expand its Rural Export Initiative, "particularly those elements related to the use of information technology and electronic commerce technologies." The Rural Export Initiative provides "specialized export counseling to rural companies," through a network of Export Assistance Centers in cities across the country, according to the ITA. Those centers reach out to rural businesses, primarily farmers and ranchers, to ensure they have needed information about export regulations and opportunities.

Urban Help Also Included

Beyond encouraging rural businesses to sell their wares to foreign customers over the Internet, Manzullo wants the ITA to launch a new initiative to help urban and minority businesses do the same. The bill requires the ITA to establish a "Global Diversity and Urban Export Initiative" which would "use electronic commerce technology and products as another means of helping urban-based and minority-owned businesses export overseas," the bill states.

As part of the initiative, Manzullo wants the ITA to make itself more accessible to small urban businesses for guidance and resources. The bill also targets sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America as prime targets for increased exports, despite the limited computer and Internet penetration in many of the countries in those areas. The bill would require the Department of Commerce to establish offices in at least 10 sub-Saharan countries and in each of the countries in Central and South America and the Caribbean "to ensure that United States businesses are made aware of existing market opportunities for goods and services.