Assessments of the U.S. economy confirm a growing trend of racial wealth disparity, which, economists say, bodes ill for overall economic health. The late Andrew Brimmer, Ph.D., the first African-American governor on the Federal Reserve Board, showed that discrimination reduces potential productivity throughout the economy, costing the country 3 percent to 4 percent of gross domestic product.
The U.S. Commerce Department?s Minority Business Development Agency and International Trade Administration, as well as the Export-Import Bank of the United States, are ginning up collaborative efforts to get more minority owned businesses into the global marketplace in a bid to increase overall U.S. exports.
Ex-Im Bank entered a new partnership with the MBDA to help small minority- and women-owned export businesses obtain loans so that they can have greater access to foreign markets. Through this new partnership, small and medium-sized export businesses may be eligible for a six- or 12-month revolving line of credit of up to $500,000 through Ex-Im?s Global Credit Express program.
