Rep. Cisneros Announces $300,000 Grant Award for Diamond Bar's SEMA to Help Reduce Trade Barriers for CA-39 Small Businesses
Press Release
Today, Representative Gilbert R. Cisneros, Jr. (CA-39) announced a $300,000 Market Development Cooperator Program (MDCP) grant award for Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) in Diamond Bar. The grant comes from the U.S. Department of Commerce's International Trade Administration (ITA). MDCP awards enable the ITA to partner with non-profit industry groups to remove industry-specific trade barriers and increase the global competitiveness of U.S. firms. To view the grant award, click here.
"Amid this pandemic, it's critical that we help our small businesses get back on their feet. I'm proud to announce this $300,000 grant award for SEMA, a huge win for small businesses in the 39th District and across the country," said Rep. Cisneros. "SEMA's tireless work helps U.S. manufacturers compete in global markets and reduces burdensome barriers to trade. The MDCP award is exactly the type of public-nonprofit partnerships we need to get our economy back on track."
"SEMA's international programs have assisted numerous SEMA members to grow and expand their sales into overseas markets. The formal partnership with the U.S. Department of Commerce through the Market Development Cooperator Program (MDCP) has allowed us to quickly grow the SEMA export program in terms of the range and depth of its services, and in assisting additional US manufacturers while defraying the cost for US companies to participate," said Linda Spencer, senior director of international and government affairs at SEMA. "The 2020 MDCP grant enables SEMA to introduce several new initiatives to address trade barriers hindering American specialty equipment companies' ability to sell overseas. We will address the growing problem of counterfeit automotive customizing products, and the ongoing work to seek pro-industry regulations abroad that allow US products equal market access."
MDCP projects generate $359 in American exports for every $1 of MDCP awards made, and, in an average year, MDCP projects create or sustain more than 17,000 American jobs.
For more information about the Market Development Cooperator Program, please visit www.trade.gov/mdcp.
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