International business and trade blog

The resulting whitepaper on Finding Distributors for Export Markets is meant to help exporting companies avoid the pitfalls and effectively grow their business internationally through a well managed distributor network. Some of the points covered include:

Europe remains a great export destination, despite all its complexities. It is the largest destination for US exports and together, the US and Europe make up over half of world GDP and a third of global trade. While Europe is the world’s second-smallest continent, it boasts a GDP of over $32.7 trillion, with 11 of the world’s 20 largest consumer markets.

With so much attention focused on BRIC growth, it’s easy to forget just how important the Transatlantic Alliance already is:

The world and business are online: levels of over 3.5 billion internet users and e-commerce revenues of $1.25 trillion are anticipated to be reached by 2013(1). In our increasingly 'hyperconnected' world, the importance of creating an effective and international online presence becomes apparent.

Last month The Wall Street Journey's Hannah Karp published an interesting article entitled “Teaching Americans to Export*."  It covers the recent success in Los Angeles, where export volume is growing at 31%/yr. vs. 10% for other US ports.  Key to this is a regional focus on export, where their success is even more remarkable given that only 15% of California's manufacturers are exporting.   

I was recently called upon by fDi Magazine, to serve on the judging panel in their 2nd Global Ranking of Economic Zones. Alongside other leading experts on the panel, I assessed more than 600 free zones from 120 different countries, judging them on criteria including facilities, promotion strategies, services, transportation, incentives offered, and cost-effectiveness as well as drawing on my expert knowledge and experiences.

Posted by Michael Hawksley
FDI pages of an EDA’s websites come in many shapes and sizes but, for me, there are three clear messages that are important to make the FDI pages useful to a company interested in the area. These are:

1. Where the area is. This might seem obvious but it is often overlooked. It is important to say where the area is and its relevant position to major centers, transport and communications links. What all companies need to know is how easy it is to get there and how quickly goods/products can be delivered to the clients.
2. Why the area is a good place to set up business and what type of business. For a company to move into an area, there are a number of factors that are considered. The natural ones to highlight are the facilities, the potential workforce, and the types of complimentary businesses that are already there. Different areas are suitable for different companies so know which ones your area is good for and say so,
3. How the EDA will help the new company set up in the area. The more the EDA can do to help the company move in the better. So say how you will help. These could be: real estate, human resources, legal and tax issues, etc. Additionally, it is helpful to say which languages are spoken by the EDA staff.

Finally, you must remember that the decision makers should have the key information in their own language. However, it is important to have the text translated by a professional or native speaker as a bad translation will reflect negatively.

Posted by Veronica Mendoza
For the first time the European Union and the United States will accept each other's organic certifications.  On February 15, 2012, after two years of negotiations, the organic food trade agreement was signed at the BioFach World Organic Trade Fair in Nuremberg, Germany. The deal that will come into effect in June will open up US$50 billion market combined value, and will avoid costly administrative duplication, strengthening the competitiveness of this sector.

The only variation to this agreement was the use of antibiotics between the two countries.  In organic production, antibiotics are not allowed in the United States, except to control evasive bacterial infections, while the EU rules only allow their use in the treatment of infected animals. Therefore to be able to trade under this agreement, antibiotics should not be used for any reason, all products must be validated by a certified agent.

Posted by Veronica Mendoza
What is the agreement about?

In the last six years, Canada has concluded free trade agreements with nine countries: Colombia, Peru, Jordan, Panama, Honduras, and the European Free Trade Association that includes Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland. 

Current situation for exporting is more challenging for both European and American companies. Slow down in Europe’s export growth suggests that popularity of European goods is slightly decreasing, which could be caused by high pricing and uncompetitive goods. A forecast recently released by OECD suggests that the Eurozone has already fallen into recession, which will also likely affect exports of US goods. US exports in Europe grew strongly in 2011, and accounted for 22% of total American goods exports2. Challenging situations require exporting companies to pay even more attention to preparation in order to secure a successful mission.