Carta pushes SBA to bolster fund managers and innovators

Topline

• Cimino urges SBA to bolster fund managers in congressional testimony

• Tariffs set markets off and create cracks in Republican unity

• Quick hits: Stablecoin, Congress to vote on Atkins, and small biz lending rule

Carta testifies in Congress on initiatives to expand private capital

Carta testified before the House Small Business Committee to make the case that startups, growth-stage businesses, and the investors that back them are this nation’s economic and innovation engine. Private capital provides entrepreneurs with long-term, risk-forward capital to launch and build companies. 

This has fueled an innovation ecosystem that has:

• created 70% of net-new jobs since 2019

• accounts for half of U.S. economic activity

• spurs innovation—over the past 50 years, the U.S. has started twice as many companies as the rest of the G7 combined. 

The charge: We need to not only bolster this engine, but broaden it—to more investors, more companies, more communities. Access to capital is a gating issue for startups and small businesses. To broaden access to capital, we need to broaden the investor ecosystem. 

Why investment matters: Regional capital can create regional economic hubs. This starts the flywheel. Emerging and regional managers tend to invest early, invest locally, and invest diversely. These investors back entrepreneurs in the region. And these entrepreneurs launch and build companies, which attract employees to the region. These employees earn income and develop skills, further broadening the ecosystem in which to invest.

Path forward & why it matters: To do this—in addition to capital markets and tax policy we advocate for in other forums—policymakers can bolster the Small Business Association’s Small Business Investment Company Program, which enables venture capital and private equity funds that acquire an SBIC license to borrow additional capital from the SBA to deploy into the ecosystem. This public-private partnership leverages professional investment managers to invest in more entrepreneurs across the country and broaden the innovation ecosystem. 

This message was met with bipartisan support at the Small Business Committee hearing, and we need to keep pushing as policymakers scrutinize—and cut—spending and more funds seek to leverage the SBIC program. 

Anthony Cimino, Head of Policy at Carta, speaks on the economic engine of private capital.

Liberation Day: Trump unveils sweeping levies in move to reshape global trade

This week, President Trump announced a comprehensive tariff regime in a dramatic shake-up of U.S. trade policy. Here are a few highlights:

• 10% baseline tariff on all imports, set to take effect on April 5

• Reciprocal tariffs on certain nations, with higher rates for nations the administration considers to be “bad actors” on trade. These tariffs are set to take effect April 9. Southeast Asia will be hit particularly hard.

• Additional 34% tariff on China, which combined with the previously announced 20% levy for fentanyl will bring the rate to 54% on top of duties that existed before the start of Trump’s second term.

• Canada and Mexico were excluded from the latest round of tariffs, but previously announced levies on steel, aluminum, and autos remain in place.

Why it matters: The day after the announcement, markets posted the biggest drop since 2020, the early days of the pandemic. A number of countries have already announced steep retaliation initiatives and have discouraged their companies from investing in the U.S. 

The impacts on the broader startup ecosystem may not be as visible, but there will be significant impacts. If conditions continue, companies will likely face higher costs and suffer from downstream effects of any resulting macroeconomic contraction, both of which may make fundraising more challenging and put pressure on valuations. Volatile market conditions could chill IPOs and further stunt exit opportunities. 

What’s next: The extent of the import hike and their longer-term impacts are far from uncertain. Trump has walked back previous tariff hikes. What’s also uncertain is how long the traditionally pro-trade Republican base will continue to support the president’s policies, which have sent markets into turmoil and will likely lead to higher costs across the board for their constituents. This week, several GOP Senators broke ranks and voted with Democrats to reverse Trump’s Canadian tariffs. This vote was more symbolic and will not pass the House, but it shows fault lines. Sen. Chuck Grassley is leading bipartisan legislation to give Congress more power over tariff policy. This fracturing is likely to continue as the impacts from Trump’s tariff overhaul continue. 

Knock-on effects: Beyond the economic turmoil, the growing split in the Republican conference—their willingness to vote against the President on tariffs, for instance—may make it harder for the president to hold the conference together on bigger-ticket items such as tax reform, where almost every Republican vote will be needed.

Quick hits

• House Financial Services approves stablecoin bill with Democrats split. Six Democrats joined Republicans to advance the effort. The Senate could vote on its similar version in the next few weeks, whereas the House may wait to vote on the measure as part of a more comprehensive crypto regulatory package. 

• BlackRock: Democratizing private markets is the future. In his 2025 annual letter, BlackRock CEO Larry Fink focuses on the need to democratize investment in private markets so more individuals can participate in high-growth opportunities like infrastructure, data centers, and private credit. Fink sees technology, tokenization, and retirement reform as keys to expanding access, creating a more inclusive prosperity flywheel.

• US Senate panel advances Trump pick Paul Atkins as SEC chairman. The Senate Banking Committee advanced Trump’s picks to lead the SEC and OCC by a 13-11 party-line vote. Both are expected to be confirmed by the full Senate in the coming weeks.

• CFPB to reopen controversial Biden-era small-business lending rule. The CFPB is reopening its controversial small-business lending data rule, a Dodd-Frank required rule that requires banks and fintechs to collect and report information around demographics and pricing. The industry strongly opposed the final rule, citing compliance challenges and data privacy concerns, which could discourage lending and disproportionality impact smaller lenders. 

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