California's Contributions to the U.S. Export Profile

Small to medium sized enterprises (SME) are the engine of the United States economy. And the world’s emerging economies offer great opportunities to expand. However, only 1% of U.S. SMEs engage in the international marketplace. Efforts at the national level to expand all U.S. exports, and especially those of SMEs, depend upon each state in the union to participate in this venture. As a key contributor to the U.S. economy, California’s and its vast majority of SMEs, play a key role in U.S. export profile. This paper describes the export landscape of the top five U.S. states, focusing on California’s SME export profile by sector, destination, volume and demographics. Advantages of diversity among SME owners and employers, as well as challenges of exporting to emerging markets are featured. California’s strategies to promote SME export prospects and its contribution to the National Export Initiative are considered in the context of selected internationalization of the firm theories for SMEs.