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The Lehigh Valley is the third top exporter in Pennsylvania and experts say it's an encouraging sign that even small businesses benefit from doing business overseas. By expanding internationally, businesses can capture a large percentage of the world's purchasing power, reap increased profits, gain faster sales and generate more jobs. These were some of the outcomes experts disclosed in a panel discussion this morning at an international trade breakfast seminar hosted by The International Business Council of the Greater Lehigh Valley Chamber of Commerce and sponsored by Santander Bank at the Holiday Inn Conference Center in Breinigsville. Middle market companies can increase revenues by 24 percent when they do business overseas, said Pamela Campbell, Santander's regional executive for the Pennsylvania middle market in commercial banking. "There are lots of opportunities to be selling overseas," said Cristina Saenz, director of Santander Bank international trade. Many nations not only are showing fast growth but a rapidly rising middle class, opening up emerging markets. As an example, with the U.S. population at 317 million people, China's middle class alone is about 300 million people and growing, she said. The top importing nations of 2012 include the European Union, the United States, China, Germany, Japan, the United Kingdom, France, Netherlands, Hong Kong and Korea. Global U.S. trends show that in 2012, the big players in imports include China, the European Union, Canada, Mexico and Japan, according to Saenz. Click here to read the article.