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Survey: 8 in 10 Small Businesses Want to Expand Trade

84 percent say expanding trade is good, up from 77 percent last year.

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AP file

WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 8, 2017--An increasing majority of U.S. small business leaders overwhelmingly view global trade as beneficial to Americans. FedEx Corp. (NYSE: FDX) has released results of the second FedEx Trade Index (1), a national survey of over 1,000 small business leaders which tracks the impact of international trade among the small business segment of the U.S. economy.

The results of the second survey*, commissioned by FedEx and conducted by Morning Consult, finds a significant majority (84%) of small business leaders say expanding trade between the U.S. and other countries is a good thing, up from 77% last year. Similarly, 8 in 10 small business leaders (80%) say increasing global trade will improve the U.S. economy overall, up from 71% in the 2016 Index. Three out of four small business leaders (76%) also agree increasing global trade will create opportunities and U.S. jobs, compared to 69% in September 2016.

“These results show even more American small business leaders support expanding trade than last year,” said Raj Subramaniam, executive vice president, Chief Marketing and Communications Officer, FedEx Corp. “One thing is certain - small business leaders continue to view the growth of global supply chains and trade as beneficial to American workers.”

Additional insights from the survey include:

  • Nearly 3 out of 4 (74%) of small business leaders say access to foreign components and parts are necessary for the U.S. to be competitive.
  • Nearly 90% of small business leaders now say the U.S. must do a better job of retraining its workforce to meet the needs of today’s economy .

“Retraining U.S. workers is a critical part of keeping the American economy expanding and competitive in global markets,” added Subramaniam. “FedEx is a strong supporter of continued efforts to strengthen job retraining programs throughout the United States.”

[1]The FedEx Trade Index is a national survey of 1592 small business leaders conducted by Morning Consult. Respondents included business owners and executives at companies with between two and 500 employees. It was conducted from March 9-21, 2017. The margin of error for the full sample is +/-2%.

*FedEx SME Trade Index #1 Fall 2016

*FedEx SME Trade Index #2 Spring 2017

For more: Survey Results
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