Promoting Rural Exports Act of 2025

New rural export centers for businesses

This bill would require the Assistant Secretary of Commerce to establish a National Rural Export Center within 180 days. It would locate the National Center at an existing U.S. Commercial Service office, preferring offices with prior rural-export experience and offices outside major metropolitan areas. Researchers and staff supporting the National Center would be primarily based there. Within one year, the bill would require up to nine regional rural export centers, with their programs and spending subordinate to the National Center. The centers would offer opt-in, business- and product-specific market research and strategic export planning using high-quality data, including international trade association subscription databases and existing Commercial Service analyses like the Rural Export Center Research Program. The centers would collect and publish data on sign-ups, follow-on export assistance used (for example trade shows and trade missions), and the dollar value of exports they help. Each center would maintain a website with the collected data, best practices for rural businesses, and staff contact information.