For the past half century, the U.S. has led the world in breaking down barriers to trade and in creating a fairer and freer international trading system based on market economics and the rule of law that has generated more American jobs and helped the growth of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). 

Among SMEs, there are a broad number of benefits reaped by free trade agreements (FTAs), including access to new foreign markets and opportunities to expand existing export operations. Furthermore, most SMEs state they are more likely to enter a new market if it is covered under an FTA with the U.S.  FTAs have eliminated nontariff barriers that small businesses cannot handle because of the high fixed costs they impose on their bottom line; as more of these agreements are implemented, small businesses will find greater opportunities to serve markets previously unavailable to them.