§4726 Indian Tribes Export Promotion

Summary

The Secretary of Commerce can give help to grow foreign markets for real American Indian arts and crafts. Help may go to Indian tribes, tribal groups and businesses, craft guilds, marketing cooperatives, and Indian-owned small businesses. The help can pay for market research, promotional materials, trade trips, showing work at international fairs, direct selling, and other market-building work. Commerce must run the program under its own rules and favor projects that create long-term, stable overseas markets and the biggest economic benefit for American Indian artisans. Commerce must also give technical advice to applicants and recipients about finding markets, following trade and banking rules, using export/import payment methods, and other needed support. No help may support selling items that are not hand-made by American Indian artisans.