SBA export loans
Bank loans and lines of credit of up to $5 million for small businesses that sell outside the US, with the SBA guaranteeing up to 90% so lenders take on export risks they would otherwise turn down.
- Personal guarantee likely
- Secured on assets
- Secured on invoices
How it works
The SBA does not lend the money. It guarantees part of a loan from a bank or other lender, as with its other 7(a) loans, but with a larger guarantee because the SBA says most banks see loans to exporters as risky. There are three kinds:
- Export Express: a term loan or revolving line of credit of up to $500,000 for building export sales: translating brochures, a line of credit used at least 70% for export, filling export orders, or equipment and facilities in the US that produce goods or services for export. The lender decides without asking the SBA first. The SBA guarantees 90% of loans of $350,000 or less and 75% of larger ones.
- Export Working Capital Program (EWCP): a line of credit of up to $5 million to pay for export orders: buying or making the goods, standby letters of credit used as bid or performance bonds, and lending against your foreign receivables after you ship. You can apply before an export sale is final. It can be tied to particular sales or work as an asset-based line against export inventory and receivables. The SBA guarantees 90%, and says a decision usually takes 5 to 10 business days. Most run for 12 months or less, and none for more than 36 months.
- International Trade loans: term loans of up to $5 million, with a 90% guarantee, for a business that is growing export sales or is hurt by competition from imports: facilities and equipment in the US, up to $2 million of working capital, and refinancing debt.
Who can borrow: the same core rules as other 7(a) loans, including the rule that every owner and guarantor is a US citizen or US national living in the US. Export Express and EWCP are for businesses in operation for at least 12 full months, unless the people running them have strong export experience. Hotels, gas stations and (for EWCP) restaurants and bars cannot use these programs, though they can use other 7(a) loans. Lenders must check that you are allowed to sell to the countries involved.
Interest and fees: Export Express and International Trade loans have the same rate caps as other 7(a) loans (the prime rate plus 3 to 6.5 percentage points). The SBA does not cap EWCP rates; you agree them with the lender. The SBA charges the lender an upfront guaranty fee, which may be passed on to you: 0.25% of the guaranteed part for loans of 12 months or less, and the usual 7(a) fee (2% to 3.75% of the guaranteed part) for longer loans.
Guarantees and collateral: owners of 20% or more usually guarantee the loan personally (for EWCP the SBA can waive this). An EWCP lender takes first claim on the export inventory, receivables, insurance and contract payments it lends against, and for a standby letter of credit under a transaction-based line you deposit at least 25% of its amount in cash.
Upsides and downsides
Upsides
- A 90% guarantee makes lenders more willing to finance export orders and foreign receivables
- You can apply for an EWCP line before the export sale is final, which helps you offer buyers better payment terms
- SBA says EWCP decisions usually take 5 to 10 business days
- Export Express and International Trade loans have the same rate caps as other 7(a) loans
Downsides
- Only for exporting (or, for International Trade loans, competing with imports)
- EWCP interest rates are not capped by the SBA
- Owners of 20% or more usually guarantee the loan personally
- Not open to a business with any owner or guarantor who is not a US citizen or US national
- An EWCP line needs regular reports on inventory, receivables and payables, and a yearly review
Risks
- If a foreign buyer does not pay, you still owe the lender; export credit insurance can cover that risk
- If the business cannot repay, the lender can pursue the guarantors' personal assets
- A lender stops lending on an EWCP line if its yearly review finds the business no longer meets the program's tests
What it costs
- How it is priced
- Interest agreed with the lender; capped at the prime rate plus 3 to 6.5 percentage points for Export Express and International Trade loans, not capped for EWCP
- Costs that are easy to miss
- An upfront guaranty fee of 0.25% of the guaranteed part for loans of 12 months or less, and up to 3.75% for longer loans, often passed on to you
- On EWCP lines that lend against a borrowing base, the lender may charge servicing fees above 2% at its yearly review
- A cash deposit of at least 25% of any standby letter of credit under a transaction-based EWCP line
Export Express up to $500,000; Export Working Capital and International Trade loans up to $5 million, with no more than $2 million of an International Trade loan for working capital.
Have a quote? True cost of a loan: work out the APR and total cost
Applying to an SBA program? Is my business small?: check whether your business counts as small
Does it fit?
Could fit when
- You sell, or are about to sell, to customers outside the US and need money to fill the orders
- You already export and need working capital while you wait for foreign customers to pay
Unlikely to fit when
- The business grows, makes, processes, distributes or sells marijuana or marijuana products, for medical or recreational use, even where the state allows it
- The business earns much of its revenue from gambling, adult content, or political or lobbying work (the SBA's limits are more than a third, more than 5% and more than half of revenue)
- You need more than $5 million
- You do not sell outside the US and have no plans to
- The business has been in operation for less than 12 months (Export Express and EWCP need 12 months unless the managers have export experience)
- You need the money within days
- Any owner or guarantor is not a US citizen or US national living in the US
Who can use it
- Business types: Sole proprietorship, Partnership, LLC, S corporation, C corporation, Benefit corporation, Cooperative
- A for-profit small business under the SBA's size standards that cannot get the credit on reasonable terms without the SBA
- Selling, or preparing to sell, goods or services to buyers outside the US (International Trade loans also cover businesses hurt by import competition)
- In operation for at least 12 full months for Export Express and EWCP, unless the people running it have strong export experience
- Every owner, direct or indirect, and every guarantor is a US citizen or US national living in the US
Not available for: Hotels and other accommodation, and gas stations (all three programs); Restaurants and bars (Export Working Capital Program); Every kind of business the SBA does not lend to, as for other 7(a) loans, including any activity that is illegal under federal, state or local law; Businesses that grow, make, process, distribute or sell marijuana or marijuana products, for medical or recreational use, even where the state allows it.
Am I ready?
What a provider is likely to ask for. Tick what you have. Your ticks stay in this browser and nothing is stored. Checklist for all government-backed and community lending
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- Export plan
- Export orders or contracts
- Financial statements
Regulation and protections
Regulators: U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA); Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB).
Who runs it: Federal program.
SBA rules set the guarantee, the longest term, the guaranty fee and, for Export Express and International Trade loans, the highest interest rate. The Equal Credit Opportunity Act (Regulation B) covers business credit: if your business had sales of $1 million or less last year, the lender must tell you its decision within 30 days of a complete application and, if it turns you down, give you the reasons or tell you how to ask for them.
Federal Truth in Lending rules (Regulation Z) do not cover business loans, so ask for the rate, fees and total cost in writing.
Types of provider: Banks and other lenders that make SBA export loans, including EWCP lenders with delegated authority from the SBA.
SBA 7(a) lenders that lend across the country: 12 examples in the directory · chosen from an official list by a stated rule, never for payment
Also consider
What has changed
- Marijuana businesses, medical or recreational, are listed as not eligible even where the state allows them (SOP 50 10 8.1), and the fit finder now says so.
Sources
- SBA: Trade tools for international sales (export finance programs) · checked October 20, 2026
- SBA: SOP 50 10 8.1, Lender and Development Company Loan Programs (effective October 1, 2026): Export Express, EWCP and International Trade loans, and Appendices 16 to 18 · checked October 20, 2026
- 12 CFR 1002.9 (Regulation B): notifications, including to business credit applicants · checked October 17, 2026
- 12 CFR 1026.3 (Regulation Z): exempt transactions, including business credit · checked October 17, 2026
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