THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
______________________________________________________________
For Immediate Release October 6, 2000
EXECUTIVE ORDER
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ASSISTANCE TO SMALL BUSINESS
EXPORTERS AND DISLOCATED WORKERS
By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the
laws of the United States of America, including the Small Business Act, 15
U.S.C. 631 et seq., the Workforce Investment Act, 29 U.S.C. 2801 et seq.,
and the Trade Act of 1974, 19 U.S.C. 2271 et seq., and in order to assist
small businesses, including businesses headed by underserved populations,
in participating in the export of products, and to expedite the delivery of
adjustment assistance to dislocated workers, it is hereby ordered as
follows:
Section 1. Policy. By its accession to the World Trade Organization,
the People?s Republic of China will be required to open its markets to a
wide range of products and services provided by Americans. In addition,
the United States has recently enacted a new law to facilitate trade with
the countries of Sub-Saharan Africa and the Caribbean Basin. Federal
agencies should take steps to assist small busi-nesses, including
busi-nesses headed by underserved populations, in capitalizing on these new
opportunities. The agencies should also take steps to assist workers who
lose their jobs as a result of competition from imports in their efforts to
secure adjustment assistance benefits for which they are eligible.
Sec. 2. Interagency Task Force on Small Business Exports. (a) The
Secretaries of Commerce and Labor, the Administrator of the Small Business
Administration, the United States Trade Representative, and the Chairman of
the Export-Import Bank shall, within 60 days from the date of this order,
establish an interagency task force through the Trade Promotion
Coordinating Committee (TPCC). The task force shall facilitate exports by
United States small businesses, including businesses headed by underserved
populations, particularly with respect to the People?s Republic of China
and the countries of Sub-Saharan Africa and the Caribbean Basin. The TPCC
shall submit an annual report to the President on the functions carried out
by this task force during the preceding year. As part of its work, the
task force shall assess the extent to which the establishment of permanent
normal trade relations with the People?s Republic of China, and the United
States enactment of the African Growth and Opportunity Act, 19 U.S.C.A.
3701 et seq., and the United States- Caribbean Basin Trade Partnership Act,
19 U.S.C.A. 2701 note, may contribute to the creation of export
opportunities for small businesses including businesses headed by
underserved populations.
(b) For the purposes of this order, "businesses headed by underserved
populations" means businesses headed by women or minorities, and/or
located in rural communities.
Sec. 3. Expedited Response to Worker Dislocation. (a) The Secretary
of Labor shall expedite the Federal response to worker dislocation through
the Workforce Investment Act and the Trade Adjustment Assistance program by
proactively seeking information, from a variety of sources, on actual or
prospective layoffs, including the media and community and labor union
members, and by sharing such information with appropriate state workforce
officials. In addition, the Department of Labor (Labor) shall undertake a
number of proactive steps to support public outreach activities aimed at
workers, employers, the media, local officials, the community, and labor
organizations and their members to improve awareness of the adjustment
assistance available through Labor programs, including, but not limited to:
(1) developing a set of methods to inform employers of the services
available through Labor workforce programs, which will explain
the requirements of the Worker Adjustment and Retraining
Notification Act, 29 U.S.C. 2101 et seq., and provide information
on worker adjustment programs, including the Trade Adjustment
Assistance and the basic dislocated worker programs, emphasizing
the importance of early intervention to minimize the affects of
work layoffs;
(2) improving websites and other modes of communication to provide
basic information on dislocated worker and Trade Adjustment
Assistance program contacts at the State and local level;
(3) developing a National Toll-Free Help Line to provide universal,
accurate, and easy access to information about public workforce
services to workers and employers;
(4) providing on-site technical assistance, in partnership with other
Federal agencies, when there are layoffs or closures with
multi-State impact, or when there are dislocations with
significant community impact (such as areas that have been
affected by numerous layoffs of apparel and textile workers);
(5) informing States directly when a secondary worker impact has been
affirmed by Labor; and
(6) to the extent permitted by law, and subject to the availability
of appropriations, providing funding or an outreach campaign for
secondary workers (i.e., individuals indirectly affected by
increased imports from other countries).
(b) The Secretary of Labor, in consultation with the Secretary of
Commerce and the United States Trade Representative, shall report annually
on the employment effects of the establish-ment of permanent normal trade
relations with the People?s Republic of China.
Sec. 4. Judicial Review. This order does not create any right or
benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law by a party against
the United States, its officers, its employees, or any other person.
WILLIAM J. CLINTON
THE WHITE HOUSE,
October 6, 2000.
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