Trade Secrets Secretary of Commerce Mickey Kantor shares his goals for putting small business on the world map.
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
U.S. small businesses are surging into the global marketplacelike never before. And, if Secretary of Commerce Mickey Kantor hashis way, the trend will only continue.
Kantor became the 31st Secretary of Commerce on April 12,replacing Ron Brown, who died in a plane crash on a trade missionto Bosnia and Croatia. Before that, Kantor had served as U.S. TradeRepresentative for three years, negotiating more than 200agreements to expand international trade, including an automanufacturing and auto parts sales compromise with Japan.
As Commerce Secretary, Kantor's goals include generating newjobs through increased exports, expanding markets abroad andencouraging entrepreneurship. In this exclusive interview, Kantorshares some specifics with Entrepreneur.
Entrepreneur:What are your plans to promote U.S.exports and foreign deals?
Mickey Kantor: We've tried to [promote U.S. exports]in two or three very important ways. First, the president realizedwhen he came to office that we had to restore the domestic economy.He's done that in a dramatic fashion.
[There are now] 10 million new jobs. More businesses [have been]created in the last 42 months than in any comparable period in allof American history. Four million [people are] new home buyers. Thedeficit has been cut by more than 60 percent. We have the smallestfederal government since President Kennedy was inaugurated in 1961.Ninety-three percent of the new jobs created have been in theprivate [sector]. And, for three straight years, the United Stateshas been the most productive and competitive nation on earth.That's the first time that's happened in 10 years. This isclearly the strongest domestic economy we've had indecades.
Step two [has been] opening markets by negotiating tradeagreements. To supplement those agreements, we have [strictly]enforced our trade laws. Along with that, we implemented a tradepromotion coordinating committee and policy, started by SecretaryBrown, who did a fantastic job making sure we created a network ofExport Assistance Centers.
The combination of these factors has led to month after month ofrecord exports for the United States. We are by far the largestexporting nation on earth. We are the largest producer ofautomobiles and semiconductors in the world.
Entrepreneur:You've said you want to fine-tunesmall-business assistance programs. Which programs are you lookingat, and how will you hone them?
Kantor: We've created Export Assistance Centersaround the nation that bring together the Ex-Im Bank, the SmallBusiness Administration and the Commerce Department to promote andhelp finance [international] trade, especially with small andmedium-sized businesses. After all, 80 percent of the new jobscreated in this economy are created by small and medium-sizedcompanies. Our goal with these Export Assistance Centers is to makesure we help those businesses as much as possible.
Entrepreneur:What role does small business play inexpansion of our trade globally?
Kantor: Small and medium-sized businesses represent about12 percent of U.S. exports. That's a fairly large number.Still, we would like to see it grow. That's why we areaggressively targeting [small and medium-sized] businesses withbetter technical assistance, more outreach, improved tradefacilitation and new export mechanisms.
The Department of Commerce alone counseled 41,000 smallbusinesses [last year]. I'm thinking of the small companiesI've visited that are now beneficiaries of a global economy. Ahuge percentage of business now comes from overseas. Atlanta Saw,in Atlanta, Georgia, has only 200 employees but now exports to 60or 70 companies. It makes saw blades for butcher shops and sendsthem all over the world.
Entrepreneur:So clearly, major U.S. corporationsaren't the only players in the global marketplace?
Kantor: That's right. And we're trying to makesure everyone can participate in what has become an explosion ofglobal activity.
Entrepreneur:You've said you believe our mostimportant assets as a country in competing in the global economyare the skills of our people. What do you mean by that?
Kantor: You can transfer technology and shift moneyaround the globe in the blink of an eye, move management, evencreate companies overseas . . . but you can't compete and winin the global economy unless you have the best educated people inthe world. Businessperson after businessperson tells me [what] theyneed most is trained workers. It's beginning to happen, but wehave to make sure we invest in our most precious asset--humanbeings.
Contact Sources
U.S. Department of Commerce, (202) 482-6001, fax: (202)482-5168.
