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The Small Business Administration (SBA) offers loan guarantees through its Export Working Capital Program(EWCP) to help small businesses export. SBA's EWCP provides transaction-specific financing for loans of $833,333 or less. Exporters may use this program for pre-export financing of labor and materials, financing receivables generated from these sales, and/or standby letters of credit used as performance bonds or payment guarantees to foreign buyers. To locate the SBA office in your area, call SBA headquarters at 1-800-827-5722 or visit the SBA Web site.

The Export-Import Bank of the United States offers a Working Capital Guarantee Program for working capital loans over $833,333. The program can be used to purchase raw material and finished products for export, pay for materials, labor and overhead to produce goods and/or provide services for export, and cover standby letters of credit serving as bid bonds, performance bonds or advance payment guarantees. The Exim Bank also has an Export Credit Insurance Program to protect against both the political and commercial risks of a foreign buyer defaulting on payment. In addition, Ex-Im guarantees can be obtained on commercial loans to foreign buyers of U.S. goods or services to cover 100 percent of principal and interest against both political and commercial risks of nonpayment. In some cases, Exim also offers direct loans to foreign buyers with competitive, fixed-rate financing for their purchases from the United States. For more information on Export-Import Bank programs, call their export finance hotline at (800) 565-3946. You may also visit Exim’s Web site. Many state governments provide export financing through their international trade offices. A list of all state trade offices is available on the National Export Directory.