| Abstract: | This study of 110 Export Management Companies (EMCs) investigates their perceptions of the potential impact of the Export Trading Company Act (ETCA) of 1982 on their future growth possibilities. Specifically it examines what product types might best be handled by an American Export Trading Company (AETC), and what types of trading activities an AETC would be expected to engage in. In addition, respondents were asked about specific features of the ETCA that they liked or disliked. The results of this study indicate perhaps as many as 20% of current EMCs may enter into some type of Export Trading Company arrangement, and some of the AETCs are likely to evolve into something similar to a Japanese sogo shosha. However, the development of these "American sogo shoshas" will be much slower than many supporters of the AETC of 1982 appear to have hoped for. |
