* § 221. Export trade development projects. 1. The commissioner is hereby authorized to provide assistance to export trade development projects designed to encourage and assist businesses, industrial firms or industry groups to engage in export trade and to coordinate other state economic development programs with such projects. 2. The commissioner shall give preference to export trade development projects which benefit those businesses which are resident in the state, independently owned and operated, not dominant in their fields, employ five hundred employees or less and which are located in a geographic area demonstrating a need for such services. 3. An export trade committee is hereby established to make recommendations to the commissioner for his or her approval of proposed export trade development projects. Members of the committee shall include, among others, the commissioner, who shall chair the committee, a representative of the port authority of New York and New Jersey, and at least two representatives of the private sector experienced in export trade selected by the commissioner, at least one of whom shall be from a small business. 4. The department shall actively seek to identify and disseminate information to entities which may be eligible to receive assistance pursuant to this section and shall make awards for export trade development projects on a competitive basis.

(a) Entities eligible to apply for funding for an export trade development project shall include public benefit corporations, not-for-profit corporations, local development corporations, industrial development authorities, trade associations, educational institutions and other not-for-profit organizations which promote economic development.

(b) Applicants shall be required to demonstrate their ability to provide the services proposed; the potential for the initiation or expansion of export trade from the area to be served; the availability or non-availability of export credit and export technical assistance from other sources in the area to be served; the methods to be used to coordinate the delivery of state and local export promotion resources; the possibility that the services to be funded would become self-sustaining; the potential to duplicate the project elsewhere in the state; the participation of local and regional economic development organizations; and to provide a program budget, including matching funds, in-kind and otherwise, to be provided by the applicant.

(c) A project eligible to be an export trade development project may include, but not be limited to, any project to provide one or more of the following services: export market analysis; foreign direct investment leads; export trade promotion; export trade education; export trade finance technical assistance; or export trade finance. 5. No single grant for export trade development projects providing technical assistance shall exceed one hundred thousand dollars; no single grant for export trade development projects providing financial assistance shall exceed two hundred thousand dollars. * NB Amendments effective insofar as they pertain to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey upon passage of same as legislation by New Jersey