Selected Recipients for this Program

Fiscal Year 2016: 18850000. Fiscal Year 2017: No current data available. Fiscal Year 2018: No data available.

Uses and Use Restrictions

Funds are restricted to export promotion activities that assist eligible small business concerns.

Reference STEP program announcement.

Reference STEP program announcement.

Eligibility Requirements

Applicant Eligibility

States, defined as the 50 states, District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, US Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and the Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands.

Beneficiary Eligibility

None.

Credentials/Documentation

Documentation must include designation by the State Governor or his/her designee that the applicant is the sole entity responsible for conducting the state's export activities. 2 CFR 200, Subpart E - Cost Principles applies to this program.

Aplication and Award Process

Preapplication Coordination

Preapplication coordination is required.

Environmental impact information is not required for this program.

This program is excluded from coverage under E.O.

12372.

Application Procedures

This program is excluded from coverage under 2 CFR 200, Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards. The proposal must be submitted via grants.gov.

Award Procedures

SBA Headquarters executes cooperative agreements to approved state applicants. Refer to STEP Program Announcement.

Deadlines

Contact the headquarters or regional office, as appropriate, for application deadlines.

Authorization

Small Business Act, Section 22(l) (15 U.S.C. 649(l)), Section 1207, Public Law 111-240.

Range of Approval/Disapproval Time

Prior to the end of the Federal fiscal year (i.e., September 30th).

Appeals

Discretionary awards; no appeal opportunity.

Renewals

Eligible applicants may apply each year of the program.

Assistance Considerations

Formula and Matching Requirements

Statutory formulas are not applicable to this program. Matching Requirements: The 10 states with the highest percentage of exporters that are small business concerns based upon the latest data available from the Department of Commerce shall receive no more than 40 percent of the total Federal Fiscal year appropriation. The Federal Share of project cost for a State that has a high export volume will be 65%. The Federal share of project cost for a State that does not have a high export volume will be 75%. (The Associate Administrator for the SBA Office of International Trade will determine which States are high volume). The State must match the remainder of project cost. The match must be comprised of not less than 50% cash and not more than 50% of in-kind contributions. Matching funds may not be derived from any Federal program. MOE requirements are not applicable to this program.

Length and Time Phasing of Assistance

Cooperative agreements are limited to 1 year. Payments are made by cost reimbursement or in advance as specified in the Notice of Award. See the following for information on how assistance is awarded/released: Reference STEP Program Announcement; STEP Merit-based Review Process.

Post Assistance Requirements

Reports

Reference STEP Program Announcement and notice of award document.

Cash reports are not applicable.

Progress reports are not applicable.

Expenditure reports are not applicable.

Performance monitoring is not applicable.

Audits

In accordance with the provisions of 2 CFR 200, Subpart F - Audit Requirements, non-Federal entities that expend financial assistance of $750,000 or more in Federal awards will have a single or a program-specific audit conducted for that year. Non-Federal entities that expend less than $750,000 a year in Federal awards are exempt from Federal audit requirements for that year, except as noted in 2 CFR 200.503. The legislation requires SBA?s Office of Inspector General (OIG) to conduct a review that determines the extent the recipients of grants are measuring the performance of activities, the results of the measurements, and the overall management and effectiveness of the program.

Records

The SBA/Office of International Trade shall maintain detailed, complete, and accurate activity records of sufficiency to reflect clearly the nature and variety of State Trade Expansion Program trade promotion activities that are conducted to benefit small businesses. Financial records will be maintained until 3 years after the completion of the grant period.

Financial Information

Account Identification

73-0400-0-1-376.

Obigations

(Cooperative Agreements) FY 16 $18,850,000; FY 17 est $18,000,000; and FY 18 est $10,000,000

Range and Average of Financial Assistance

No data available.

Regulations, Guidelines, and Literature

Reference STEP Program Announcement

Information Contacts

Regional or Local Office

See Regional Agency Offices. See Appendix IV of the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance under Small Business Administration.

Headquarters Office

James Parker 409 3rd St., SW 2nd Floor, Washington, DC, District of Columbia 20416 Email: James.Parker@sba.gov Phone: 202-205-3644

Criteria for Selecting Proposals

Awards are competitive. Selection is made based on the eligible applicant?s written ability to meet the criteria stated in the program announcement in a merit-based, competitive award process with other eligible applicants; and the applicants ability to match funds.