US official urges American small businesses to export abroad

The head of the U.S. Small Business Administration says only 1 per cent of America’s small businesses export overseas and is urging many more to enter the global market.

Linda McMahon told a small business summit at the United Nations on Thursday that “businesses that export are less likely to go out of business and more likely to grow faster.”

She said “that’s because 96 per cent of all of the world’s consumers and over three-quarters of the world’s purchasing power are outside of the United States.”

McMahon said there are challenges for American businesses to become exporters including access to information, capital and barriers to entering markets.

But she said the Trump administration and her agency are committed to ensuring equal access for small businesses to international markets.