a. The United States has significantly fallen behind other industrialized nations with respect to the volume of its exports in relation to its gross national product, and this trend will continue as the European economic community grows in strength as an economic competitor;

b. The advent of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and the opening of markets in Eastern Europe and the nations of the former Soviet Union present important opportunities to expand our markets abroad;

c. Export trade has a material impact in bringing about economic expansion and sustainable economic growth, having a particularly salutary effect upon manufacturing industries which have saturated their domestic markets;

d. Many small domestic industries have the potential for great expansion through the development of export trade, but lack the incentive, information, expertise, and financing to develop an effective export trade program;

e. In order to assist businesses with little or no export experience in establishing a relationship with an export agent which has the appropriate expertise and offers a full range of export services, the Legislature finds it appropriate to establish a voluntary State certification program for qualified export trading corporations organized solely to assist new entrants into the export market, in an effort to ensure a standard of proficiency and reliability in the export services provided.

L.1995,c.275,s.1.