WASHINGTON—Today, Congress finished its work on legislation to improve America’s customs and trade programs, opening more doors for the hundreds of thousands of small businesses who seek to export their goods.
The final version of H.R. 644, the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act of 2015, included original text from H.R. 2587, a bill HouseSmall Business Committee Chairman Steve Chabot (R-OH) introduced earlier this year. These provisions aim to make various federal and state trade agencies coordinate instead of duplicate their efforts, and to make them more accountable to small businesses and taxpayers.
“In my home state of Ohio alone, more than 1.5 million jobs are tied to international trade, many of them with small firms,” Chabot said in a speech supporting the bill.“The bipartisan customs reauthorization bill before us today will give small businesses the confidence and security they need to compete in a global marketplace.”
Chabot added, “That’s why I’m pleased that this finished bill incorporates language we helped craft to ensure we’re doing everything we can to keep the doors of trade open to small businesses."
For more on the role of small businesses in international trade, see Chairman Chabot’s speech in full:
