Rep. Cicilline, Ex-Im Bank Chairman Hochberg Host Forum to Help Rhode Island Businesses Gain Competitive Edge in Global Economy

PROVIDENCE, R.I., June 7, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Today, Rhode Island businesses were told how they can successfully grow their sales, and their businesses, by selling more around the world instead of focusing on just selling around the corner.

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Representative David N. Cicilline (D-RI) and Export-Import Bank Chairman Fred P. Hochberg, hosted an exporter forum for Rhode Island small businesses at Bryant University.  More than 75 representatives from local companies attended the event, which focused on how American companies can gain a competitive edge when exporting their products overseas. Rhode Island small businesses also received one-on-one trade counseling with Export-Import Bank experts.

"As a member of Congress who sits on the House Small Business Committee, I know that my number one priority is to help create jobs and grow our economy," said Congressman David Cicilline. "The economic recovery of Rhode Island, and the nation as a whole, demands that we work collaboratively and focus our energy and resources on those initiatives that will help spur job growth now, and provide our workers, our entrepreneurs, and our businesses – particularly smaller enterprises – with the tools they need to compete in the global economy. That's why we must provide the support and assistance, both financial and technical, that small businesses need in order to expand the sale of their goods and services abroad."

"In order to compete in the global marketplace, American companies need to expand their customer base," said Ex-Im Bank Chairman and President Fred P. Hochberg. "With billions of consumers living outside our borders, the opportunities are limitless.

"Ex-Im Bank will continue to host Global Access forums so we can provide businesses with the resources they need to expand globally and reach the President's goal of doubling U.S. exports by 2015."

Chairman Hochberg gave an overview of Export-Import Bank's new Global Access for Small Business initiative, aimed at increasing the number of small businesses across the United States that export goods and services produced by U.S. workers. This is an integral part of the President's National Export Initiative (NEI), led by the Commerce Department, to double U.S. exports by 2015.

Small business owners who missed the Global Access forum can still learn how Ex-Im Bank can enable them to generate new export sales by contacting the Bank's Regional Export Finance Center at (212) 809-2650, or by calling toll-free to 1-800-565-EXIM (3946).   Ex-Im Bank offers information specifically designed to assist small business exporters secure export financing on its website at http://www.exim.gov/smallbusiness/.

Global Access is supported by a wide variety of business and financial and government partners, including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM), and the Bank's 60-plus city/state partners located throughout the U.S. This year, Export-Import Bank plans to hold more than 20 Global Access forums around the country.

The Export-Import Bank is an independent federal agency that helps create and maintain U.S. jobs by filling gaps in private export financing at no cost to American taxpayers. It has generated $3.4 billion for U.S. taxpayers over the past five years. For the first half of FY2011, Export-Import Bank completed $13.4 billion in total authorizations. This supported $15.9 billion in exports and more than 115,000 U.S. jobs, a 14 percent increase in jobs supported over the first half of 2010. These strong financial results put the Bank on a path to its third consecutive record-breaking year. For more information, visit Export-Import Bank's Web site at www.exim.gov.

SOURCE Export-Import Bank of the United States