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[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4271 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
118th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 4271
To establish the Rural Export Center, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
June 22, 2023
Mr. Armstrong (for himself and Mr. Pappas) introduced the following
bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To establish the Rural Export Center, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Promoting Rural Exports Act of
2023''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) Rural businesses are often located far from information
clusters and major transportation corridors.
(2) Because of their location, rural businesses face higher
barriers to accessing international markets.
(3) A dedicated Rural Export Center within the United
States and Foreign Commercial Service providing business- and
product-specific support can help companies in the United
States looking to export their products.
SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF THE RURAL EXPORT CENTER.
(a) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Assistant secretary.--The term ``Assistant Secretary''
means the Assistant Secretary of Commerce and Director General
of the United States and Foreign Commercial Service appointed
pursuant to section 2301(a)(2) of the Export Enhancement Act of
1988 (15 U.S.C. 4721(a)(2)).
(2) Commercial service.--The term ``Commercial Service''
means the United States and Foreign Commercial Service
established under section 2301(a)(1) of the Export Enhancement
Act of 1988 (15 U.S.C. 4721(a)(1)).
(b) Establishment of the Rural Export Center.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 1 year after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Assistant Secretary shall establish
a Rural Export Center (in this section referred to as the
``Center'') for the purpose of providing businesses located in
rural areas in the United States with resources to help those
businesses export their products.
(2) Location of the center.--
(A) In general.--The Center shall be established at
an office of the Commercial Service in the United
States in existence before the date of the enactment of
this Act.
(B) Criteria for selecting location.--In selecting
a location for the Center, the Assistant Secretary
shall give preference--
(i) based on expertise and operations at
Commercial Service offices that support rural
businesses exporting to new markets before the
date of the enactment of this Act; and
(ii) to such offices not located in major
metropolitan areas.
(C) Location of staff.--Any researcher or staff
directly supporting the operation of the Center shall
be primarily based at the Center.
(c) Export Center Operations.--
(1) In general.--The Center shall--
(A) provide in-depth, customized, and actionable
market research services that--
(i) a business may opt into based on need;
and
(ii) are--
(I) focused on actionable and
measurable results for a business;
(II) business- and product-
specific;
(III) targeted to not more than 3
international markets;
(IV) based on high-quality data,
including data from international trade
association subscription databases; and
(V) based on market analysis and
export services of the Commercial
Service available before the date of
the enactment of this Act, including
the Rural America's Intelligence
Service for Exporters program; and
(B) conduct strategic planning and export support
services for rural businesses as needed.
(2) Measure of effectiveness.--To measure the effectiveness
of the Center, the Center shall collect and make available data
on--
(A) the number of businesses that sign up for
market research assistance;
(B) the number of export assistance services a
business engages in following the research assistance,
including--
(i) trade shows;
(ii) trade missions; and
(iii) other services facilitated by the
Center; and
(C) the total monetary value of exports facilitated
by the services provided by the Center.
(3) Website for the center.--The Center shall maintain an
internet website that includes--
(A) data collected by the Center;
(B) best practices for rural businesses beginning
to evaluate export opportunities; and
(C) appropriate contact information for staff at
the Center.
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs.
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