ITA’s SME-focused export assistance offices shed staff, vexing companies

Commerce Department offices around the country that help smaller businesses find new markets have been stretched thin following the Trump administration’s push this year to shrink the federal government, according to business representatives who say staffing levels already had been tight. Commerce’s “Global Markets” program, housed in the department’s International Trade Administration, serves a few functions -- helping U.S. businesses connect with new buyers abroad, win foreign procurement contracts and resolve market barriers, as well as attracting foreign investment into...