Abstract

No one expects the Export Trading Company (ETC) Act to rapidly spawn export trading companies comparable to the mammoth Sogo Sosha of Japan as of September 1984. It merely offers the opportunity for companies to set up a sophisticated network that can mobilize under one framework all the skills and resources required to transact a simple purchase agreement or a complex, multitiered international development project. It will take time for trading companies to develop the necessary staff of sales agents to fully utilize the international network of buyers and sellers that participating banks will provide. It will take even more time for the newly formed ETCs to become firmly established because they will be in competition with foreign trading companies that already have many years of successful experience. Despite its potential benefits, no one contends that the ETC Act is a panacea that will cure all America's trade problems. In order for the potential of the ETC Act to be realized, it is important that the business community be made aware of this legislation. The U. S. Department of Commerce has taken the initiative of disseminating practical information through many channels, including a series of 26 nationwide seminars on "How to Form Export Trading Companies."