Tagged: exports

A top business official in the Obama administration will be speaking to the International Business Council of Greater Rochester Friday.

The goal is to raise awareness of the federal programs that can help small businesses boost foreign sales.

"We want to make sure small businesses are not left behind," says Fred Hochberg, president and chairman of the Export-Import Bank of the United States (Ex-Im Bank).

Dozens of tour buses have added the tiny town of Elma, N.Y., as a stop this year. On their way to scenic sites like Niagara Falls, these tourists are squeezing in a visit to the Made in America store.

Shop owner Mark Andol climbs aboard a bus and tells the riders that shopping here is a patriotic act.

"When you walk through them doors, I guarantee when you're shopping — the homework's been done — it's 100 percent made-in-America products. Made in this country by American workers, and the money stays in our economy. So, enjoy yourself," he says.

The Brookings Institution announced Tuesday it will help the central New York region write business and export plans.

The goal: get everyone on the same page and produce a plan that actually gets executed - not just fill up a binder to throw on the bookshelf.