May is World Trade Month in the United States and is an opportunity to recognize the importance of exporting to the U.S. economy and encourage U.S. businesses to begin or expand their export efforts.
U.S. exports of goods and services totaled $2.5 trillion in 2018 supporting 11.5 million U.S. jobs and accounting for nearly 13% of gross domestic product (GDP), according to the U.S. Department of Commerce. Of that, 97% of the nearly 300,000 U.S. companies that export are small- or medium-sized businesses, which the U.S. Census Bureau defines as having 500 or fewer employees.