Observations on the Commerce Department's Overseas Trade Exhibitions Program

The Department of Commerce's overseas trade exhibitions program costs about $30 million; $20 million in direct costs for the overseas program, $3 million for the related domestic program to promote exports, and $7 million spent in the United States to support these programs. The activities conducted overseas include trade centers, trade fairs, trade missions, and special promotions. A previous review of Commerce's overseas trade exhibition program concluded that the program could be more effective as a tool to promote foreign trade. Commerce has responded to earlier recommendations by allocating greater portions or resources to trade centers and fairs in developing and Communist countries. The United States is the only country to use permanent trade centers as a major export promotion technique. Trade centers are often not the most effective use of available resources for promoting exports, particularly in developed countries. The Department should discontinue the use of estimated sales as the major justification and effectiveness measurement for the program and should develop additional performance measures for the program, such as the number of new product lines exhibited and the number of new export firms attracted to its promotional events. Increased emphasis should be placed on domestic stimulus programs to get more U.S. firms into exporting and most available funds should be used to assist firms new to the field.