Conference Presentation, Other
Remarks by The Honorable Wilbur L. Ross
Goldman SachsWilbur L. Ross, John F.W. Rogers, Kevin McCarthy, Tyler Perry, Danny Meyer, Sarah Kauss, Sara Blakely, Michael Bloomberg, Gina Raimondo, Rick Snyder, Marco Rubio, Lloyd Blankfein, Richard Branson, Warren Buffett
- Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) constitute 29.6 million companies, generating 63% of all new jobs and employing just over 50% of the US workforce.
- The demographic composition of new businesses has shifted significantly, with minority-owned startups rising from 27% of new ventures in 1995 to 40% currently.
- Regulatory relief efforts resulted in the elimination or postponement of at least 1,500 rules and regulations targeting the burdens on SMEs and manufacturing.
- Economic benefits for flow-through entities include reduced marginal tax rates and increased deductibility of capital expenditures.
- Estate tax revisions have been implemented to facilitate business succession for the next generation.
- Trade enforcement activity has increased by 80% in the last 12 months compared to the prior administration's preceding 12-month period.
- The Commerce Department has initiated a self-start mechanism to file trade cases on behalf of industries where the multi-million dollar cost of initiating a case is prohibitive.
- Export participation remains low, with less than 3% of American businesses currently exporting goods.
- To address export gaps, the Commerce Department has deployed foreign commercial service teams in 73 US cities, 108 international cities, and 60 embassies, offering these services free of charge.
- A specific case study involves Natalie Kaddis of Kaddis Enterprises, whose plastic manufacturing business grew 400% following export assistance, leading to her appointment to the department's export council.
- Strategic advice emphasizes the necessity of active marketing alongside product development, particularly leveraging the internet and social media for businesses with limited internal marketing capabilities.
- E-commerce is highlighted as a critical growth vector, illustrated by a successful business launched by US citizens in Laos selling to major markets in New York and Paris without physical relocation.