March 12, 2008

The U.S.-Colombia Trade Promotion Agreement (TPA) offers tremendous opportunities for Tennessee’s exporters. Export-supported jobs linked to manufacturing account for an estimated 5.3 percent of Tennessee's total private-sector employment. More than one-seventh (15.1 percent) of all manufacturing workers in Tennessee depend on exports for their jobs (2003 data are the latest available). Exports sustain thousands of Tennessee’s businesses – a total of 4,117 companies exported goods from Tennessee locations in 2005. Of those, 3,267 (79 percent) were small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), with fewer than 500 employees.

Source: Prepared by the International Trade Administration