Tradeology, the ITA Blog
A Blue Print for Export-Driven Job Growth
Mary Trupo is the International Trade Administration’s Director of the Office of Public Affairs.
The National Press Club is abuzz with excitement as Secretary Gary Locke prepares to roll out the National Export Initiative (NEI), unveiled during President Obama’s State of the Union Address. During last week’s speech, the president announced a goal of doubling exports over the next five years to support 2 million jobs in America. The NEI, the first of its kind, represents a government-wide export-promotion strategy in the U.S. with focused attention from the president and his cabinet.
As I sit here in the throng of reporters, members of Congress and invited guests, I am struck by how much work, collaboration and passion has gone into creating this historic initiative. Much more work is ahead as we promote and engage American businesses to take advantage of the expanded programs that the Secretary just announced.
I am excited to be part of this moment and know that through the efforts of the talented and dedicated global staff within ITA, we will reach the goal of increasing exports and assisting more U.S. companies who are either new to exporting or export ready, to expand into new markets.
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State of the Union Spotlights Importance of Export Promotion
Michelle O’Neil is the Acting Under Secretary of the International Trade Administration.
We have always known the importance of exports to the American economy here at the International Trade Administration and we are thrilled that President Obama recognized exports and the National Export Initiative in yesterday’s State of the Union Address.
If we needed any more confirmation of the importance of our role at ITA, we heard it last night. One of the pillars of the new foundation of economic growth rests on exporting more American goods and services – a message the nation heard loud and clear directly from President Obama.
There is no time for us to waste and no reason for the country to have to wait to see the results of the challenge the President laid at our feet: To double exports by the end of the next five years and support new jobs in America.
The President mentioned just about everything that we do here at ITA – but now we are going to step it up a notch to help create the two million jobs that doubling exports will generate.
We must help more farmers and small businesses expand their exports; seek new markets for American products; continue to pursue free trade agreements and find ways to enforce them; continue to push for concluding the Doha round; expand our trading relationships with Asia and other key trading partners; and, above all, work together.
In doing our jobs and doing them well, we will have confirmed the faith the President has in us.
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Duluth Export Summit
Amelia Goeppinger is an International Trade Specialist serving in the Minneapolis U.S. Export Assistance Center with the International Trade Administration’s U.S. Commercial Service.
Last week, I had the pleasure of participating in a significant export summit led by Sen. Amy Klobuchar in Duluth, Minnesota – the fourth summit she has held to promote the importance of exporting in her state. Sen. Klobuchar, who chairs the Senate Commerce Subcommittee on Competitiveness, Innovation and Export Promotion, is working with the International Trade Administration (ITA) to encourage the expansion of trade among businesses in her state through summits that can inform the private sector about economic opportunities through international trade. Minnesota manufacturers and service providers play a major role in trade around the globe, and their participation is expected to increase as the world’s economy grows.
The senator kicked off the Duluth Export Summit by championing the relationship between exports and job creation, and during the summit she facilitated and led a panel discussion on the opportunities of exporting with local experts from the Minnesota office of ITA’s U.S. Commercial Service and representatives from the Small Business Administration and the Minnesota Trade Office. Thirty representatives from local businesses and other interested parties listened to the presentations, which were followed by a spirited question-and-answer session.
My client, Epicurean Cutting Surfaces, was the highlighted company. The local Fox News channel interviewed Dave Benson, Epicurean's chief financial officer, and I was asked to highlight and elaborate on the successes of the Featured U.S. Exporter (FUSE) service – which Epicurean is using effectively. FUSE successfully identified qualified distribution partners for the company.
The success of the export summit is hopefully going to be replicated as an example of how the International Trade Administration, through its U.S. Commercial Service offices, collaborate with state congressional offices, exporting companies and local export resources to educate firms on the link between export growth and job creation.
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U.S. Firms Shining Bright (Green) in Copenhagen
Frank Carrico is the Regional Senior Commercial Officer at the U.S. Embassy in Stockholm, Sweden. He has also served the U.S. Commercial Service in Iraq, Brazil, Ukraine, Japan, and Germany.
Following Secretary Gary Locke’s whirlwind schedule on December 11th - featuring a breakfast for Bright Green companies hosted by the American Chamber of Commerce in Denmark; a bilat with Sweden's Trade Minister Ewa Björling to discuss the EU Presidency and cleantech cooperation; and a long evening with the World Business Council for Sustainable Development - the “Bright Green” program began very early Saturday morning long before the trade show doors opened. The Commercial Service’s (CS) Bright Green team helped the Secretary meet U.S. exhibitors, give remarks at a morning reception hosted by GE, visit with CS staff at the “Commerce/FedEx Meeting Place”, and formally open Bright Green with remarks focused squarely on the value of U.S. technology for mitigating climate change and for increasing jobs in the cleantech sector.
After the morning departure of the Secretary and his team, CS personnel turned full attention to the business of helping U.S. firms make the most of their time in Copenhagen, spending two hectic days coordinating matchmaking for our 40 U.S participants and partner companies with visiting Governors, foreign companies, officials, and royalty. CS staff based in Copenhagen and colleagues from Stockholm, San Francisco, Lisbon, Oslo, the Hague, Helsinki, and Washington, DC, worked together to provide dynamic networking for all participants. A detailed Cleantech Program Guide was widely circulated to COP15 delegates and the press to highlight the many exciting U.S. companies offering cleantech solutions. The Governor of Washington, Chris Gregoire, was introduced to her State’s companies and updated on a May 2010 Swedish trade mission which will visit her State. U.S. Ambassador to Denmark, Laurie Fulton, followed with a reception on Saturday evening for U.S. firms participating in Bright Green and their special guests. Networking continued in full force throughout Sunday on the event floor at Bright Green, featuring special visits by NOAA Administrator Jane Lubchenco; Director of White House Science and Technology Office, John Holdren; and Energy Secretary Steven Chu. Throughout the event, FedEx and CS personnel worked with U.S. companies and visitors to explore additional ways these companies could succeed in the European market, especially by participating in a planned April cleantech trade mission. U.S. Ambassadors Matthew Barzun (Sweden) and Bruce Oreck (Finland) were also able to meet with the U.S. Green Building Council and GE executives to explore expanding cleantech programs for U.S. companies active in the European Union.
Finally, it was Sunday evening – at last the Bright Green team relaxed for a late meal together. The mood was positive and the conversation still focused on how to help the companies who had participated at Bright Green; we all agreed to correspond at length on contacts and results. Our hope is that many of these firms had concrete results, and we certainly intend to stay in touch and follow up.
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Green Building Takes Root in Copenhagen
Keith Curtis is a senior Foreign Service Officer currently based in the U.S. Commercial Service’s Office of International Operations. He is the Commercial Service’s senior advisor on energy efficiency and renewable energy.
The atmosphere in Copenhagen is charged with activity. Nobody is saving on personal energy – and everyone seems to be filled with a passion to make their point and make things happen. At the U.S. Presence Center at Bright Green, the International Trade Administration (ITA) was making its point bright and early at the 9:00 Green Building Seminar and the 10:15 Bright Green, “Solutions at Your Doorstep” panel discussion. Bringing the momentum of the Green Build Road Show to Copenhagen, we laid out for the delegates, NGOs, and students the wide and deep variety of everything going on in the States on Green Buildings. The audience seemed to especially like the story of the Greening of the Empire State Building as told first hand by Clay Nesler, VP of Johnson Controls (did you know Johnson Controls produced the first commercial thermostat?). He described how the tens of thousands of windows would be replaced and lighting and installation changed office by office in the ¼ mile high icon of the American Industrial Age so that when done, they would be using 37% less electricity. Roger Platt, VP of the US Green Building Council talked about how Green Building was spreading around the world, and the Department of Energy talked about how it was creating the first net-zero (uses no electricity from the Grid overall) large scale commercial building for their National Renewable Energy Laboratory, in Golden, Colorado.
The Green Building panel was followed by a second discussion organized by ITA to explain the wide range of bio-fuels, energy efficient manufacturing, and renewable energy technologies that the U.S. is delivering to the world. Kirsty Mac Donald of Intel talked about the modernization of the grid and all the intelligent hardware that will go into homes and vehicles. Did you know that every wind turbine has a half a dozen IT chips in it? Honeywell told how their bio-fuels are now being tested in regular commercial airlines for trans-Atlantic flights. The audience was curious and impressed, but the students, who sported T-shirts saying, “How old will you be in 2050?” added a special sense of urgency to the challenges we were all talking about, although the industry presentations pointed them to ways that U.S. technology is already creating real change and reducing our reliance on fossil fuels.
And we heard our second Cabinet official, Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar, speak to a full house as we looked forward to hearing our own Secretary Gary Locke speak tomorrow. There is certainly a lot going on already at the COP15 even before the 100 Heads of State arrive.
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Green Build Wrap: The Commercial Service Steps Up
Daniel Harris has been a Foreign Service Officer for over 25 years serving at posts in Europe, South America, Africa, and Washington, DC, most recently as Deputy Assistant Secretary for International Operations, U.S. Commercial Service. He currently serves as the chief of the Commercial Section and the senior representative of the U.S. Department of Commerce in the U.S. Mission to France.
At the end of two weeks of living and breathing “Green,” our Commercial Service travelers feel exhausted but happy. The adrenaline high that comes from pushing into new markets and meeting many innovative companies overcomes the fatigue. We also feel proud of our organization. This whole experiment – the Green Build Road Show, our partnerships with the private sector and our participation in the Green Build Show in Phoenix -- was driven by the “field” – that is, the Commercial Service people overseas and in the national offices. Several of us in Europe grasped that Green Build was a growth opportunity and started developing the notion of a Road Show. Our colleagues in the United States jumped on board and our folks in Headquarters supported us. Then we went to the private sector to find marketing partners and their positive response confirmed we were on to something.
What’s so cool is that we brought this together in a very 21st Century style – we coalesced around the power of an idea and we pieced the rest together as we went along. Dozens, maybe hundreds, of people collaborated across nine time zones, with no guarantees of success or promises of particular reward. The Commercial Service DNA seems to include genes for both entrepreneurship and altruism.
We’ve learned a lot from thinkers at Carnegie Mellon, the National Renewable Energy Lab, the Green Build Council – and of course from the companies we met. Our challenge is helping them succeed in overseas markets, and for that we can draw on years of experience. It feels really good when you offer ideas and see lights flashing in an entrepreneur’s eyes. On Wednesday, I told a start up that they were selling themselves short – that we could help them take a much more ambitious approach to the European market, despite their limited resources. After talking to a couple of my colleagues, they circled back to tell me they wanted to go for it!
Al Gore and Sheryl Crowe energized several thousand Green Build participants on Wednesday night – giving us a sense that, through supporting American innovation, we’re making our own contribution to saving the planet.
All of us sense that the Road Show is just the beginning. This sector is still ramping up – and we want to be players. So, where do we go from here? Already we have a couple of big events on the horizon – the Bright Green Pavilion at the COP 15 in Copenhagen and the Green Industries Trade Mission we’re doing with FedEx in April. Beyond that, we want to expand and deepen our partnerships with top research institutions, with our private sector partners and with associations. For the rest, we’ll move with the needs of American companies as this exciting sector continues to unfold.
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The Green Wave Reaches Phoenix, as the Greenbuild Expo Opens
Keith Curtis is a senior Foreign Service Officer currently based in the U.S. Commercial Service’s Office of International Operations. He is the Commercial Service’s senior advisor on energy efficiency and renewable energy.
Reaching the Green Goal, the Commercial Service’s Greenbuild Road Show has arrived at its final destination: the Greenbuild Conference and Expo, the country’s largest sustainable building event based in Phoenix this year. This wildly popular event is hosting 1,800 exhibitors and expected to attract upwards of 25,000 of visitors over the next three days. At its pre-show program, delegations from 90 countries came to International Day, creating the “buzz heard ‘round the world” about Green Buildings. CS Abu Dhabi Senior Commercial Officer Laurie Farris brought a delegation of 95 buyers and planners ready to build green in the Middle East, which was the largest group among the dozens of countries present.
As part of the educational program designed for the hundreds of international buyers, Paris SCO Dan Harris moderated a panel on retrofitting buildings to lower their carbon footprint and enhance their green credentials. Here we are now down to the core of the core of the immediate problem. From the speakers on this panel we learned an incredible amount: 40 per cent of Green House Gas (GHG) comes from buildings; 70% of our electricity is used in buildings; and, the low hanging fruit of GHG mitigation can come from increasing efficiency in buildings –the kicker is that these reductions come at cost savings, so whether you believe in climate change or not, it makes sense. Dan’s panel pointed out the next step; this problem is not going to be solved by new buildings because the turnover takes too long. Most of our buildings are “old” and will remain that way for a while. But we can put new “skins“ on buildings, and we can “green” existing buildings, like the Clinton Climate Initiative is doing with the Empire State Building. And, the most important thing we learned – the final point beyond the point – is that in the end it comes around to the people in the buildings, because green buildings have to be used right or they are no good. Green buildings are performing way below expectations, it turns out, because of improper use. So monitoring becomes key, as are systems that tell you how the building is performing in actual use, and what you need to correct. Now, here at the Greenbuild Expo, it seems we are arriving at the set of solutions needed to really address climate change.
And the buzz is building and building. We started the day at the office of the U.S. Export Assistance Center in Scottsdale which has a growing set of export-ready clients – our European SCOs reached out to these Phoenix-area companies from a wide range industries who are interested in the European markets; some of these folks later joined us at the Greenbuild show to check out the excitement. As the International Day seminars came to a close and the Show officially opened in the evening, gleaming with beautiful carpets and a feast of food and drink, we started meeting a host of U.S. firms who hold the solutions to mitigating climate change and enhancing energy efficiency. These are the companies we want to help introduce to international markets. Now we look forward to a whirlwind of buzz as we head toward the penultimate events of the tour.
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Thinking About Europe From San Francisco on the Green Build Road Show
Dorothy Lutter is a Senior Foreign Service Officer currently serving as the Minister Counselor for Commercial Affairs at the U.S. Embassy in London. She has previously been posted in over half a dozen other countries and has served as the U.S. Commercial Service's Regional Director for the Western Hemisphere.
Green Build Roadshow Stop Four – Today’s event was held in beautiful San Francisco, appropriately enough in the LEED-certified green offices of local sponsoring partner, Nixon Peabody. Completed in 2007, the office cost 1.75% more to create a green space, but according to one of the senior partners already created energy savings and savings in terms of increased efficiency, effectiveness, and worker productivity. David Gensler, Executive Director of the architectural firm that designed the space, noted that sustainability now permeates 100% of their business in the U.S. and around the globe.
One of the common themes along the way has been that the green building market is here to stay in Europe and will only continue to grow with increased EU initiatives and regulation. Barry Lynham of Knauf Insulations reinforced this message today. He noted that the EU’s Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD) is under review with stronger measures expected to be adopted by December. Key drivers are governmental concerns over climate security, energy security and fuel poverty. Key features will be more ambitious standards, renovation standards for all buildings, a low energy strategy, increased certification and increased inspection and enforcement.
Our “quotable quote” of the day came from my colleague Dan Harris, SCO Paris, who noted that with this momentum in Europe, not only are European companies leading the way there, but are also increasingly looking at the growing green building market in America. U.S. companies need to think offensively, positioning themselves not only in the U.S., but in Europe as well. “A U.S. company that operates only in the U.S. is like a football team that is playing the game with only defense.”
As we now head to the GreenBuild Show in Phoenix, our hopes are high that we will be able to encourage and assist more U.S. companies to strategically position themselves in the dynamic and growing European green building space.
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Do You Know the Way ... to San Jose's 'Green Hub'?
Federico Bevini is the Commercial Specialist responsible for the building products, construction equipment and architectural, construction and engineering services sectors for the U.S. Commercial Service at the U.S. Consulate in Milan, Italy. Federico has been a part of the U.S. Commercial Service since 2003.
After the excellent programs in the green cities of Pittsburgh and Denver, the participants in the Green Build Road Show found their way to San Jose and discovered that Silicon Valley has a green heart. Mayor Chuck Reed, who opened the day's program in the San Jose City Hall (a LEED Platinum - certified building), actually described San Jose as an "ecosystem" of entities, among them the City government, that are cooperating in making San Jose the world center of clean technology innovation. It is very well known that the high technology industries have been bringing talent and jobs to the San Jose area over the years but, in the Mayor's words, the challenge is now to capture the next wave of innovations in clean technology and facilitate the exporting of those technologies to the rest of the world. To be sure, many local companies already derive most of their revenues from foreign markets, but many more can benefit from exports and Mayor Reed stressed how important it will be to inform the 6,000+ hi-tech companies in the area about the opportunities highlighted by the Green Build Road Show.
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The U.S. Commercial Service Green Build Road Show crew with San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed. (U.S. Department of Commerce photo) |
Many of those local companies actually attended the day's program and from the Q&A sessions it became clear that quite a few had not been involved in exports but were now considering exporting as a result of the very effective (as usual) presentations delivered by the Commercial Service and its partners in the Road Show, as well as by Knauf Insulation, which was part of the panel and was very persuasive in demonstrating that driving energy efficiency in buildings is good for climate, energy, economy, jobs (a "win win win win" situation). During the Q&A session, members of the Small Business Administration and the Exim Bank had an opportunity to highlight their organizations' financing programs aimed at increasing local companies' participation in foreign trade shows and at furthering developments in renewable energies. The audience's interest in the day's program was exemplified by the eagerness of representatives from the Greater San Jose Hispanic Chamber of Commerce to be involved in the FedEx Green Trade Mission and in the Hannover Fair.
On a personal note, the afternoon meetings with local companies interested in starting or expanding their presence in Europe confirmed my initial impression that San Jose and Silicon Valley are home to innovative, open minded and ambitious entrepreneurs who are not looking to make a quick profit but, at least in the area of green building, really want to contribute to reducing the carbon footprint in the USA and abroad. Excellent!
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The Green Build Road Show Hits the National Renewable Energy Laboratory
Frank Carrico is the Regional Senior Commercial Officer at the U.S. Embassy in Stockholm, Sweden. He has also served the U.S. Commercial Service in Iraq, Brazil, Ukraine, Japan, and Germany.
We’ve had a great stop in Denver. Our Commercial Service office here, under expert guidance from Paul Bergman, coordinated an in-depth visit to Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) today. While on the road, the Commercial Officers are not only highlighting market opportunities in Europe to the sustainable building clients we meet, but we’re learning an incredible amount about the green technologies that make the United States a global leader in this area. That’s why we’re at NREL.
We’ve had briefings on NREL’s programs that were focused on development and commercialization of new technologies in building energy efficiency, biofuels, and alternative power production, with particular emphasis on integrating innovative photovoltaics to yield lower and more competitive cost of production of solar cells for kilowatt hours (Kwh) of energy. NREL is DOE’s only laboratory of its twelve research facilities that is focused on developing energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies (EERE). A critical part of the lab’s mission is the acceleration and transfer of NREL technology into existing energy markets. NREL’s Partnership Development programs for its industry partners foster the integration and application of NREL’s R&D. These programs are allowing nascent renewable energy companies to accelerate entry into the private marketplace; become cost-competitive; work with worldwide partners in renewable energy; and, expand markets in the U.S. and overseas.
NREL’s $460M budget for 2009 includes $110 million of funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act which is being used to increase collaboration through Cooperative Research and Development Agreements (CRADA) and to expand international cooperation with foreign governments. Most recently, NREL has become a founding partner of SolarTac Technology Acceleration Center for establishing a major commercialization center in Aurora on the outskirts of Denver for integrated photovoltaics and energy efficiency technology commercialization. Other founding partners include SunEdison, Xcel, and Abengoa Solar of Spain. NREL expects that at least 30 companies will become part of SolarTac within the next year.
Commercial Officers and Specialists offered suggestions on how our domestic and international offices could assist NREL and DOE with its work in overseas markets and to open international markets for U.S. companies working with NREL on innovative technologies. DOE is already working with CS Stockholm and Copenhagen on special presentations at its Bright Green trade event in December in Copenhagen during the UN COP-15 Climate Change negotiations.
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Commercial Service Senior Commercial Officerss speaking with Colorado Governor Bill Ritter (right). (Photo Department of Commerce) |
Following our whirlwind site visit at NREL, Paul Bergman and the CS office took us downtown for a special visit with Governor Bill Ritter. Each of us had the chance to introduce our work in our markets to the Governor and to explain how we could help with increasing export sales for Colorado companies. In particular, we had the opportunity to explain how the Fedex-sponsored April trade mission to Europe would be especially valuable for Colorado companies. The Governor promised that his office would follow up with us on the trade mission and will explore closer cooperation on our export programs.
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Green Build Road Show – Moving on to Denver
Thomas Moore is Counselor for Commercial Affairs at the U.S. Embassy in Rome, Italy. Mr. Moore has previously served as the U.S. Commercial Service’s Deputy Director General, overseeing 2,000 employees in more than 80 countries.
After two successful days in Pittsburgh, the U.S. Commercial Service’s Green Build Road Show landed in an unseasonably sunny and warm Denver, Colorado, for another two-day program touting the unparalleled export opportunities in Europe’s green build and renewable energy sectors.
During the morning program, an audience member posed an interesting question: Did we have any optimism that the United States would follow and match Europe’s current lead in the domestic deployment of these technologies? As it turned out, the questioner had arrived late and missed most of the morning presentations. Otherwise, he would have known that he was addressing a roomful of green entrepreneurs with strong confidence in an inevitable low-carbon future.
The Road Show had touched down in exactly the right place: Denver is a hotbed of green technology development. While the Road Show was conceived to educate U.S. companies on the European green build market, it has also been an eye-opening learning experience for the U.S. Commercial Service’s European officers and industry specialists. We have found exactly what we were looking for: A rich vein of new and innovative products and specialized expertise that should find an attentive market in Europe.
Pam Reichert, the State of Colorado’s Director of International Trade, opened the program with a description of Colorado’s strong commitment to what they have creatively coined the “New Energy Economy.” “We’ve become a template for the rest of the nation for creating jobs, diversifying our energy portfolio, increasing energy security, and reducing our carbon footprint,” she said, citing the State’s success in attracting European investment in green technologies and in exporting nearly $2 billion last year to Europe.
The morning program featured presentations by two Colorado entrepreneurs who epitomize this success and should serve as encouraging role models – and mentors – for others to follow.
Dan Kigar, CEO of The Colorado Yurt Company, described his experiences in exporting 25 tent-like yurts for a major cultural exhibition in Paris. Dan plans to conquer the world with his tent structures based upon the famous design of Genghis Khan, updated to the 21st century and pushing the envelope in use of sustainable technologies and recycled products. He also cautioned exporters to beware of “bumps in the road” such as EU standards conformity issues, and he thanked the Commercial Service in France for helping him overcome these obstacles when they arose.
Mark Chen, Marketing Director for Abound Solar, discussed his company’s success selling thin-film solar photovoltaic modules in Germany, the world’s largest solar market with 50 percent annual growth in recent years. Mark elicited laughs from the audience when he compared the bureaucratic paperwork required by Germany for a solar installation – two pages – versus the tabletop full of paper required by California. But he did caution companies that they would face difficulties, albeit surmountable, in dealing with the European Union’s regulatory regimes for chemicals and electronic products. (FYI: The Commercial Service can help!)
The keynote speaker at lunch was David Hiller, Executive Director of the Colorado Renewable Energy Collaboratory, a joint venture of four premier public research universities in partnership with the private sector, and an important element in the infrastructure that has attracted foreign investment to Colorado. David highlighted the strong public support and commitment among Coloradans for clean energy solutions.
Will this public commitment be replicated nationally, as one audience member wondered? We had a room full of people betting their sweat and financial equity that it would! On a personal note, it was wonderful to renew acquaintances with our top-notch U.S. Commercial Service colleagues in the Denver Export Assistance Center. Kudos for a fantastic job organizing this event!
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From Inside a Greenbuild Environment, Day Two of the Greenbuild Road Show!
Slyvia Mohr is the Standards Specialist for the U.S. Commercial Service at the U.S. Mission to the European Union. She has been with the Mission since 1986 and been a part of the U.S. Commercial Service since 1991.
Day Two of the Greenbuild roadshow: another sunny day in Pittsburgh, which we were able to appreciate from inside a perfect greenbuild environment – Carnegie Mellon’s Intelligent Workspace – the greenbuild state-of-the-art home of the Faculty of Architecture, with special shading, ventilation system and lighting. At the invitation of Professor Volker Hartkopf, Director of the Center, the Commercial Service team participated in a greenbuilding conference attended by approximately 35 representatives from government, academia, industry, and service providers.
A series of presentations from selected speakers, among others, Kevin Kampschroer from the General Services Administration, and William Sanders from the Environmental Protection Agency, set the scene for a lively discussion on how the U.S. and EU can work together to speed up the process in addressing climate change. It was interesting to hear that participants felt a need for government to set green building target – it struck as me as so European!
We heard that promoting awareness of the benefits of green building to the general public – especially the incentives to stimulate going green and enabling green technologies – is key to making the program a success. While ambitious energy performance targets now have to be met, and preferably exceeded, for public buildings, it is often a challenge to balance budget realities and green build opportunities.
Our own mission – to reach out to U.S. greenbuild firms who are new to exporting – was expressed most eloquently by George Ruffner, the Senior Commercial Officer at the U.S. Embassy in Germany: “Where are you?!” asked George, adding, “We in the Commercial Service are ready to help American companies succeed in European markets, but we need your help to find those companies and encourage them to export.” After highlighting the individual markets in Europe, we left the participants with some food for thought for future projects, outreach, and more… Hopefully, it is the beginning of more to come!
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A Great Start to the Green Build Road Show!
Daniel Harris has been a Foreign Service Officer for over 25 years serving at posts in Europe, South America, Africa, and Washington, DC, most recently as Deputy Assistant Secretary for International Operations, U.S. Commercial Service. He currently serves as the chief of the Commercial Section and the senior representative of the U.S. Department of Commerce in the U.S. Mission to France.
What a great start to a two-week Road Show! The U.S. Commercial Service has kicked off its “Green Build Road Show” on the 31st Floor of a Pittsburgh skyscraper. Thanks to the beautiful fall weather my colleagues and I have been treated to an expansive view over a city that has become famous for re-inventing itself from a gritty rust-belt town to a leader in green technology. We’re here because the Commercial Service office in Pittsburgh has recruited an audience of 40 people from 35 companies plus four Pittsburgh associations to hear about the European sustainable construction sector.
Senior Commercial Officers from Britain, France, Germany, Italy and the Nordics presented market research that outlined market drivers, best prospects and key issues in each of these five big markets. Recognizing that regulatory requirements can scare off American companies, a Commercial Specialist from the U.S. Mission to the European Union outlined the EU system and explained how the Commercial Service can help companies navigate their products through the regulatory process.
Why bring such a high powered team across the Atlantic for two weeks to talk about green building? Because sustainable construction in Europe is one of the best growth markets to come along for years! With strong public support, EU governments have committed to ambitious targets to reduce carbon emissions – even putting money behind this campaign in the form of tax credits, subsidies and other incentives. Changes in building codes, taxes on carbon and other measures will change behavior and building practices. American companies with competitive services, technologies and products are well-positioned to successfully export to this sophisticated market.
What I liked best about the day: Most of the companies we met were new to the Commercial Service, which is just what I’d hoped – we want to reach beyond our existing clients and describe the huge opportunities in Europe to green companies who have not yet tried exporting. I loved watching my CS colleagues bound up to the podium like race horses from the starting gate, happy to offer new opportunities and fresh perspectives on their markets. An added bonus for our audience was the presentation by Professor Volker Hartkopf, who wowed us with his hard-hitting analysis of energy use in the United States. The bad news is that we waste a huge amount of energy; the good news is that we can dramatically reduce energy consumption and expand renewables through technologies that already exist. We’ll learn more about that on Tuesday when we visit his institute at Carnegie Mellon University.
It was a great start to a two-week trip that will take us to five cities and introduce us to dozens, maybe hundreds, of new clients in the green space. Stay tuned as we share insights along the way – or join us if we’ll stop at a city near you, or perhaps at our final stop at the Green Build Conference and Expo in Phoenix. We hope we’ll meet you along the way!
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Sustainability and U.S. Competitiveness Summit
Morgan Barr is an International Economist with the Office of Trade Policy Analysis. She has been working on the Sustainable Manufacturing Initiative for two years and started in the office as a SCEP focusing on earning her MBA and MA in international affairs from the George Washington University.
On October 8, our Sustainable Manufacturing Initiative team hosted the Sustainability and U.S. Competitiveness Summit at the Commerce Department. The event was a complete success. We had more than 120 representatives from private industry, industry associations, non-governmental organizations, academia and major federal agencies in attendance. The Summit was a follow up to a similar event we held in 2007, and we wanted to report to our stakeholders on the work we’ve done since then. We also wanted to gain input from attendees on possible areas of future work for our initiative.
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Sustainability Summit Event Poster |
The enthusiasm from the attendees was tremendous. We had two extended coffee breaks and a lunch session where attendees could network and meet with representatives from various government agencies to learn about the programs and resources that are available to help them.
The event began with opening remarks from Secretary Gary Locke, who stressed the importance of manufacturing as a source of well-paying jobs and emphasized the role that sustainable practices can play in lowering costs and making manufacturers more competitive. The Secretary was followed by Gary Guzy, Deputy Director and General Counsel for the White House Council on Environmental Quality, who discussed the plans for the development of the “green economy”.
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Secretary of Commerce Gary Locke speaks at the Sustainability Summit. (U.S. Department of Commerce photo) |
Then our team presented its work. In the past two years, we’ve created an interagency group on sustainable manufacturing to coordinate action across the government, and we’ve also held a series of regional facility tours—or SMARTs—to promote the adoption of sustainable practices. Our newest deliverable is our Sustainable Business Program and Resource Clearinghouse—a searchable central database that includes numerous federal government programs and resources to support sustainable business and manufacturing practices.
We’re also working on a study being conducted in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) on simplified metrics for sustainable manufacturing. Michael Bordt of the OECD presented his work to date on the study, which will include an easy-to-use toolkit with a simplified set of metrics and guidance on how companies can use them to help make business decisions about improving their environmental performance. You can read more about the study and our other projects on our website.
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Attendees at the Sustainability Summit exchange explore the displays in the Commerce Department's lobby. (U.S. Department of Commerce photo) |
In the afternoon, Andrew Winston, co-author of Green to Gold, and author of Green Recovery, gave an excellent keynote address on the linkages between sustainability and competitiveness. His address really set the stage for the afternoon breakout sessions where attendees met in smaller groups to discuss the morning’s presentations, the challenges they’ve faced implementing sustainable business practices, and areas where the government can potentially aid the private sector in its endeavors. The discussion in the sessions was excellent, and we’re going to use the individual input, along with other factors, when we’re planning our future work on the initiative.
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Energy Efficiency: A Key Component of U.S. Competitiveness
Ryan Mulholland is an international trade specialist in the Manufacturing and Services unit of the International Trade Administration specializing in renewable energy and energy efficiency.
Scott Dietz, VP of Investor Relations at Owens Corning World Headquarters in Toledo, Ohio led David Kincaid and me around an impressive facility built as a model of sustainable architecture on a tiny reed and grass covered spit of land jutting into the Maumee River. Glass artworks from a NYC artist who incorporated the legendary glass fibers Owens Corning is so famous for graced doorways, halls, and the soaring entryway to the building. The tour reminded me that U.S. industry is a place of world class innovation—and in Toledo, Ohio, a city once devastated by economic downturns, that spirit of American innovation is alive and well, as energy efficiency has become a cornerstone for the city’s new growth and prosperity.
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International Trade Specialist Ryan Mulholland speaks at the Forum on Energy Efficiency in Manufacturing at Owens Corning in Toledo, Ohio. (Photo U.S. Department of Commerce) |
On September 21, 2009, the International Trade Administration (ITA) organized a Forum on Energy Efficiency in Manufacturing at Owens Corning to help manufacturers learn about state and federal resources available to promote efficiency. Part of an ITA Energy Efficiency Initiative aimed at promoting the development and deployment of energy efficient technologies, this one-day event attracted 86 participants. Toledo was chosen because of its efforts to reinvigorate its manufacturing industry by taking a leadership role in developing the clean and efficient industries of tomorrow.
Presenters from ITA’s Office of Energy and Environmental Industries, the National Institute of Standards and Technology’s Manufacturing Extension Partnership, the Department of Energy’s Industrial Technologies Program, and the Environmental Protection Administration’s Industrial Energy Star Program spoke about their programs. Others from the State of Ohio Energy Office, Ford Motor Company, Eaton Technologies, Rockwell Automation, North Star BlueScope Steel, and Energy Industries of Ohio shared about their experiences with and the positive benefits derived from energy efficiency improvements. Each participant gave a brief presentation on the theme of energy efficiency.
Acting Assistant Secretary of Commerce Mary Saunders introduced the event and moderated both panel discussions. Energy efficiency “represents a key component of the Obama administration’s national strategy to support job growth,” Saunders noted, adding that “with efficiency, you don't have to depend on scientific breakthroughs or engineering miracles... (but rather)… is a way of maximizing the amount of energy you get from existing sources.”
Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur addressed the group noting that energy efficiency improvements are key to Toledo’s ongoing success, and added a word of congratulations to Owens Corning for winning EPA’s Energy Star Partner Award.
Following a keynote address from Owens Corning’s Chief Sustainability Officer, Frank O’Brien-Bernini, forum participants visited the Clean and Alternative Energy Incubator at the University of Toledo.
Reactions by participants ranged from surprise at the number of available resources to gratitude, upon hearing there are individuals in government standing on behalf of American industry. It was an effort well worth the hard work and cost.
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Big Business at Big Iron
Heather Ranck is Director of the Fargo, North Dakota US Export Assistance Center. She is also active on the Agribusiness Team, and in that capacity she promotes the export of US-made agricultural machinery throughout the world.
So Much to Do, So Little Time
I keep telling myself: sleep is overrated! Somewhere between the 1 a.m. airport pickup for my colleague arriving from China; and the 7:30 a.m. Ex-Im Bank finance meeting sleep tends to take a back seat to all the organizing, facilitating, entertaining and crisis management that is inherent in putting on any large event. The Big Iron Farm Machinery Show is the biggest agricultural machinery show in the Upper Midwest, and in 2007 we decided to make it a global event when the former Soviet countries began showing very high interest in our large scale farm machinery built in North Dakota. This, our third year, is once again packed with activity and opportunities for the 150+ foreign buyers who are descending on Fargo to learn about American large scale crop farming.
This year I focused my recruiting efforts on Africa, a new frontier for large scale farm equipment. Having lived in Mozambique and Congo, I wanted to scope out the prospects, so in May 2009 I took a 3-week trip to South Africa, Angola and Mozambique. After 144 meetings I learned a lot about the needs and opportunities for farm equipment in Africa. We had a delegation of 25 Africans at Big Iron this year, and I would like to see American technology helping increase food production in Africa.
The Big Iron International Visitors Program is a collaborative effort between the U.S. Commercial Service (the primary federal government export assistance agency) and the North Dakota Trade Office (a state of North Dakota trade promotion organization); and our combined team of 10 people coordinates very closely on all recruiting, events planning, logistics, interpreting, transportation and programming.
During the show, the hub of all the activity is the International Visitors Pavilion, for which the International Trade Administration’s Market Development Cooperator Program (MDCP) provided substantial funding for the meeting rooms this year. This is Grand Central Station for buyers and sellers, with meeting rooms, food and COFFEE!
We are always coming up with new elements to the program, and one of my new ideas this year was to hold an international soccer match. We had a beautiful, sunny day in Fargo and Fargo Parks let us use the best fields in Fargo. The game ended in a 4-4 tie, further ensuring international harmony.
I also have taken on the activity of ensuring adequate language assistance for buyers and sellers. I speak Portuguese, and therefore did quite a bit of interpreting for the Angolan delegation this year. We are fortunate to have 3 universities in the Fargo-Moorhead area, so we recruit student volunteers to facilitate business meetings throughout the week.
Big Iron 2009 was as exciting as ever this year with representation from 12 different countries, many of them new to Big Iron. It is thrilling to watch the years of effort leading to deals being negotiated before our eyes; and millions of dollars of US agricultural machinery being shipped all over the world.
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OTEXA Scores Global Exposure for US Military Textiles at DSEi 2009
Mary Lynn Landgraf has been working for the past seven years in the Office of Textiles and Apparel (OTEXA) as a Senior International Trade Specialist specializing in technical textiles with an emphasis on military, hospitality and contract textiles. Ms. Landgraf brings years of private sector textile experience in international sales and marketing to her job and enjoys tackling and opening up new markets for the US textile industry.
All good things come in threes as is often quoted and OTEXA can validate the truth in the quote! I just returned from our third trade show appearance at the biennial Defense Systems & Equipment International Exhibition 2009 (DSEi 2009)—a whopping success of a military show with 1352 exhibitors from over 40 countries and 27 international pavilions. Add to these dynamic figures 77 delegations from 50 countries hosted by the UK Ministry of Defense and the scene is totally international and in the cross-hairs of defense issues. If you are looking for the latest technology from the global military community, you can find it at DSEi!
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Tim Schoenheit of Cascade Coil Drapery stops by the booth to explain Blast Mitigation Curtain properties to Mary Lynn Landgraf, OTEXA Booth organizer. Photo U.S. Department of Commerce |
The Association of the US Army (AUSA) hosted the U.S. pavilion where OTEXA had its booth. I showcased 12 companies in our Sample Booth and proudly introduced our products to the global military market that spends a hefty $1.46 trillion dollars. The world came to our doorstep seeking innovation, state of the science fabrics, garments, inputs, linings, vests, shelters, socks, filtration devices, medical kits. The list was endless, but we had or knew of the resources to address their requests. Over 67 companies approached our booth seeking U.S. technical textile products for the military. Many companies in the U.S. supply the type of products they are seeking, providing an enormous amount of potential for future sales.
The OTEXA sample booth is the perfect venue to introduce your products to global military buyers and procurement officers. To learn more about how to join us at DSEi 2011 or any of our upcoming textile and apparel trade shows please contact Kim-Bang Nguyen or Mary Lynn Landgraf at 202.482.3737!
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Serving the U.S. Business Community in South Africa
Jed Diemond has been with the Market Access and Compliance (MAC) division of ITA for almost eight years. He serves as the Senior International Economist covering the five Southern African Customs Union (SACU) countries - Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, South Africa, and Swaziland.
Last month I got to do the most interesting and fun part of my job: I staffed Stephen Jacobs, the acting assistant secretary for MAC, during his trip to Johannesburg and Pretoria, South Africa. I worked very closely with the Senior Commercial Officer in South Africa, Craig Allen, and his staff on the trip. Over an intense two days, we had a series of meetings with U.S. companies based in South Africa, South African business and trade promotion organizations, and South African government trade officials. Our goal was to explore ways to expand the U.S.-South Africa trade and investment relationship. Some of the themes of the meetings included cooperation on intellectual property rights protection and advancing trade and investment promotion cooperation in the context of a U.S.-SACU trade and investment dialogue that we are trying to jump-start. As the South Africa desk officer, I had the unique opportunity to work with Acting Assistant Secretary Jacobs to shape our message in the meetings and expand my own working relationships in South Africa, which allows me be more effective in my job.
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Asian-Pacific FDI Contributions to U.S. Economy
Aaron Brickman has been with the International Trade Administration for over seven years. He currently serves as the Director of Invest in America; and is responsible for management and coordination of foreign direct investment promotion and related activities of the U.S. Department of Commerce.
As the director of Invest in America, the primary U.S. government mechanism to manage foreign direct investment promotion on the federal level, I’m currently conducting foreign direct investment (FDI) seminars and presentations in Taipei and India. The long flight from Taiwan to India is a great opportunity to provide an update on the growth of FDI from Asia to the United States.
Invest in America (IIA) recently published a paper detailing the important role of Asian-Pacific direct investment to the U.S. economy. The report, “Asian-Pacific Foreign Direct Investment in the United States,” focuses on 10 countries and geographic areas that have a large FDI presence in the United States: Australia, China, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore, South Korea, and Taiwan.
Did you know that Asian–Pacific companies currently employ more than 788,000 U.S. workers? That number is equal to the combined working population of Boston and San Francisco. The jobs are high paying, offering on average $68,000 in annual compensation. These firms spend $4.6 billion annually on research and development in the United States and generate $61 billion in U.S. exports. Our report predicts that Asian–Pacific FDI will increase in the United States during the next 10 years, with China and India likely to be significant contributors to that trend.
Companies invest in America because we represent the largest fully-developed single country economy in the world and because our labor pool is one of the best educated, most productive, and most innovative in the world. We are a global leader in science and technology and a center for innovation. We reward creativity and we safeguard it by a strong intellectual property rights protection and enforcement regime.
To learn more about Invest in America, global FDI trends and resources or to obtain a copy of the report, visit the office’s Web site at www.investamerica.gov.
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The Road to Copenhagen
Frank Caliva is an International Trade Specialist in the Office of Energy and Environmental Industries. He is also a former Presidential Management Fellow.
The international conversation regarding climate change, greenhouse gas emissions, energy usage, and environmental protection has taken on a heightened sense of priority lately. These issues are on the front page of our daily newspapers, the topics du jour among academics and policymakers, and the increasing focus of global conferences and summits. Our daily lives are starting to be impacted as well: more alternate-fueled cars on the road, more options for conserving energy and choosing the source of our electricity from our utility companies, and more ways for individuals to reduce our carbon footprints.
Making Progress
Some significant steps have also been taken by our national leaders. Legislation has been introduced in Congress to put a cap on carbon emissions, increase funding for renewable energy, and encourage more efficient practices by U.S. companies to reduce waste. Businesses are now more commonly implementing “green” strategies to lessen their impact on the environment. We are taking steps in the right direction, but real change will require a coordinated effort on a global level. To achieve this, we at ITA have been working with other federal agencies as participants in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) negotiations. These discussions are focused on writing a new international agreement on climate change.
In 2007, countries decided to shape an ambitious and effective international response to climate change, to be formally agreed to in Copenhagen in December 2009. In the time since then, representatives from across the U.S. government have been talking with their foreign counterparts in preliminary meetings to lay the groundwork for the treaty. Only a few months away, all eyes are now looking ahead to the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen this December.
Providing Input
Reducing greenhouse gas emissions is at the top of the conference agenda, but these negotiations will also touch on numerous other issues with significant implications for the U.S. business community—like intellectual property rights, research and development, technology sales, carbon financing, and energy efficiency. As an analyst at ITA, it is my job to ensure U.S. industries’ voices are heard during these critical negotiations, so that a solution is found that is not only effective but also recognizes the critical importance of innovation and entrepreneurship to a successful response to climate change.
To accomplish this goal, we have scheduled meetings across the United States leading up to the Copenhagen conference, where industry leaders will have the opportunity to meet with government representatives—from ITA and other federal agencies—to learn how this new proposed agreement could impact their businesses. These meetings will also help us prepare for the upcoming negotiations, by letting us hear the thoughts and concerns of the business community. The first of these meetings took place in Washington, DC at the Department of Commerce on July 16.
I hope to hear from many of you and would encourage your participation in upcoming events planned in Milwaukee on August 25, San Francisco on September 10, Pittsburgh on October 8, and Little Rock, with an additional option for firms nationwide to participate via webinar.
There are only a few months left before the Copenhagen conference. This is an important opportunity to lay out a plan on climate change which will reduce carbon emissions, enhance energy security, and protect our environment, while promoting development and economic growth.
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Commercial Service+ Corporate Partners = U.S. Exporter Success!
Greg Briscoe has been a Commercial Officer for eight years. He currently serves the U.S. and Foreign Commercial Service in Memphis, Tennessee and is responsible for managing cooperation under the Commercial Service-FedEx Corporate Partnership. Prior to coming to Memphis, Greg served in Tokyo, Japan and Paris, France.
I just completed another great phone call with a small U.S. company expanding its exporting profile as a direct result of cooperation between the U.S. Commercial Service and FedEx, a Commerce Service corporate partner. I’ve been following up with the 12 small- medium-sized FedEx clients that participated in the November 2008 FedEx Trade Mission to India that was certified by the Commercial Service. A few comments I’ve been hearing:
- “You did in one week in India what it took me two years to do on my own in finding a suitable, trusted representative in India. This will increase our sales in India by three fold!”
- “The trade mission gave us the courage and perspective necessary to pursue the business success we are now experiencing in India, which will total 15% to 20% of our revenues over the next several years.”
Needless to say, these have been very satisfying calls to take. But FedEx isn’t the only corporate partner working with us to help U.S. small- and medium-sized companies raise their export profiles.
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Members of the FedEx Trade Mission to India Take Time to Pose for a Photo in Mumbai, India. (U.S. Department of Commerce photo) |
My colleagues and I also work with Baker & McKenzie, City National Bank, Comerica Bank, M&T Bank, PNC, TD Bank, the U.S. Postal Service, eBay, Google, UPS and Zions Bank to help increase U.S. exports. These are not the only private companies we work with, but this group of companies competed for a no-cost contract to become our promotional partners. They were awarded the contract to help promote the U.S. Commercial Service and increase the number of firms who export. In fact – we’re looking for additional partners now – look for it on fedbizopps.gov.
Together, by using webinars, seminars, and publications (such as “The Basic Guide to Exporting,” “Getting Paid by Your Latin American Buyer,” and “The Trade Finance Guide”) we educate companies on the “how to’s” of exporting. I think we are only scratching the surface of what we, the U.S. Commercial Service and our private sector partners, can do together. I look forward to many more calls with U.S. companies reporting on their successes overseas resulting from these very successful public/private partnerships. FedEx’s next trade mission is to Turkey this November. Join us!
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infoComm09, an IBP Event, has Its Biggest East Coast Show in History
Graylin Presbury has been with the International Trade Administration for 30 years. He has spent the last five years in the U.S. & Foreign Commercial Service (USFCS) as a Project Officer in the Global Trade Programs unit.
I had the privilege of being the project officer for InfoComm09, the world’s premier annual B2B conference and exposition for the professional audiovisual information communications industry. It alternates annually between the east and west coasts of the United States.
Both the weather and the technology were hot last month in Orlando at InfoComm09. The conference, held June 14-19, had more than 300 educational workshops and seminars, and the exhibition, held June 17-19, had roughly 850 exhibitors and more than 28,000 attendees, making this the biggest east cost show in its history.
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ITA Global ICT Team in cooperation with the International Buyer Program at InfoComm09 (U.S. Department of Commerce photo) |
The International Business Center (IBC) provided a one-stop shop for U.S. Government assistance at the show. The IBC featured International Trade Administration (ITA) export and industry experts as well as representatives from the Export-Import Bank and the Small Business Administration.
As a project officer, I particularly appreciated having the support of ITA’s Global Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Team. Through the ICT Team and the USFCS International Buyer Program, we brought in nearly 500 delegates from 27 countries, including delegations from Argentina, Brazil, Columbia, Ecuador, Egypt, France, Mexico, Norway, the United Kingdom, and Uruguay. Additional ICT Team support came from trade staff in our U.S. Export Assistance Centers in Austin, TX; New York; Clearwater, FL; and Portland, OR, which included outreach and export counseling to exhibitors from their states and regions.
The ICT Team was instrumental to our success and the quality of services we delivered. Aside from the 20 or so U.S. exhibitors and attendees who visited the IBC, there were about 35 U.S. exhibitors that scheduled 130 appointments as part of the ICT Team’s Showtime program. In addition to the market counseling provided by USFCS overseas staff, ITA industry experts informed participants about market trends, trade policy and regulatory issues. Representatives from the Export-Import Bank and the Small Business Administration counseled exhibitors about loan guarantee programs, business development assistance and export credit insurance.
To read more about the International Buyer Program, please visit http://www.export.gov/IBP.
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Sustainable Manufacturing Tour
Acting U.S. Commerce Assistant Secretary for Manufacturing and Services Mary Saunders is leading a tour of four Seattle-area manufacturing facilities as part of the department’s Sustainability 360 initiative. The tour, Sustainability 360: An Aerospace Supply Chain Event, is designed to showcase the benefits of sustainable manufacturing throughout an aerospace manufacturing supply chain.
Sustainability 360
We just concluded our first Sustainability 360 event here in Seattle and the experience was outstanding – lots of good practical examples of how implementing sustainable manufacturing practices can reduce environmental impact and improve the bottom line for businesses. Sustainability 360 is what we are calling our regional tours of manufacturing facilities operating at various points in the supply chain, in this case the aerospace supply chain. Our sustainable manufacturing and aerospace teams in Manufacturing and Services worked with the U.S. Export Assistance Center and Washington Manufacturing Services, the Manufacturing Extension Partnership Center in the area, to put together a tour of four companies who are at various stages in their sustainability journey, to share their lessons learned and best practices with other local companies.
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Participants visiting the new facility of Tyee Aircraft, a producer of aerospace components. Tyee has incorporated sustainable principles into its lean manufacturing practices with zero waste water release, energy efficient lighting, and recycling programs. (U.S. Department of Commerce photo.) |
We toured Puget Sound Energy, Tyee Aircraft, Goodrich Aerostructures and The Boeing Company, along with 24 local company representatives. And we learned a tremendous amount. For instances, successful companies are those that are “purpose driven”, with management and employees working toward a common goal. Sustainability takes into account the interest of the company itself in becoming more competitive; as well as the interests of investors, suppliers, customers and the community in which it operates. Ideas for improving sustainability can come from anyone in the company and even from suppliers and customers. There are no bad ideas. Sustainable Manufacturing practices save money and help grow business.
I have toured factory floors before, but I have never seen this much energy and enthusiasm, in companies ranging in size from a little more than a 100 employees to several thousand. Today’s program reinforced the practical value of the departments’ Sustainable Manufacturing Initiative and the value of public-private partnership in advancing the competitiveness of U. S. industry. What a hands on- way to spread the message to U.S. manufactures nationwide that sustainable manufacturing practices can deliver triple-win solutions that benefit U. S. firms, the communities in which they operate and the environment.
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Mary Saunders giving her opening remarks for the Sustainability 360 event at utility Puget Sound Energy. PSE's 2008 energy efficiency work will result in annual savings for its customers of $30 million a year. (U.S. Department of Commerce photo.) |
Sustainable manufacturing is an area where the U.S. maintains a global competitive advantage. Not only are we the largest producer of clean technologies globally, we are also a leader in creating cutting edge, lean and clean manufacturing practices throughout industry supply chains. I am looking forward to our continued work in helping to spread the sustainable manufacturing message nationwide. For information on this initiative and its three components, take a look at http://www.manufacturing.gov/sustainability. Let us know what you think.
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Honoring a Man and his Legacy as a Presidential Management Fellow
David Kincaid is a first year Timothy J. Hauser Presidential Management Fellow who obtained his Masters degree from the George Washington University’s Elliott School of International Affairs. In addition to his coursework in international affairs and economics, David has experience in business and non-profit program management. During the first year of his PMF program, David has had the opportunity to work with Invest in America, the Corporate Partners Program, Advocacy Center, the Office of Energy and Environmental Industries, and is currently working with the Foreign-Trade Zones Board located in Import Administration.
Living up to expectations
Last August, when I joined ITA, I arrived on the scene bearing, in addition to the title Presidential Management Fellow or PMF, the name of a man I had never known—Timothy J. Hauser. Many told his story, each expression unique, yet the message was the same—Tim had been a pillar of the ITA family and had left an indelible mark on the soul of this organization. But for me, one piece of his story resonated with clarity. As someone close to Hauser said, “Tim advocated that all ITA personnel should seek a variety of experiences in the organization. Only in this way can they see how it all works together and get beyond the weeds.” I took Timothy Hauser’s inspiration to heart and embarked on my journey as a PMF.
During my Masters program I learned a great deal about the work of ITA, I learned about trade law, antidumping and countervailing duties, I learned there are four business units within ITA and that Census and BEA are not part of ITA but rather are part of Commerce, I even learned that certain offices conduct trade policy analysis and others support the efforts of the U.S. Trade Representative. But who knew there are USEACs and political appointees and taskers and that hundreds of people work to foster exports of everything from chemicals to cars and from tourism to pension funds? There was no course on TMs and IBPs, FSNs and SCOs, or how OSP works on PIPs for MAS, CS, MAC, ODUS, OCFO, and IA through WBTs developed by folks in OCIO! It’s true; the alphabet soup was at best daunting to learn. But, beyond the intellectualist brain-tickling, far more valuable lessons have come of my PMF journey.
Working through others to achieve a common goal
On the first day of my new position, a respected voice said to me, “the greatest skill you can learn here at Commerce is working through others to achieve a common goal.” And oi!, how true it is—even beyond the walls of this building—because this is, in fact, what we do here. The International Trade Administration is made up of thousands of people who work tirelessly through others to achieve a goal on behalf of the American people. They work to ensure opportunities for small and medium-sized businesses overseas, they work to create jobs for Americans, they work to level the playing field in the global marketplace for U.S. companies, they work to foster innovative and cutting-edge strategies for American competitiveness, they work to serve the American people. Whether it be promoting foreign direct investments that create job opportunities for American workers, or engaging corporate partners who may facilitate U.S. exports, or advocating on behalf of American companies for foreign contracts, or opening foreign markets for civil nuclear reactor builders, utilities and wastewater technology industries, or programs that reduce duties on value added imports so American manufacturers can remain competitive and keep jobs at home. I have worked in all these areas and have met people working through others to serve the American people.
And so it is that I am now armed with many rewarding experiences, a renewed understanding of people and the inspiration of Timothy Hauser. Having now gained a 30,000 foot view of the organization and having built an abundance of rewarding relationships, I am grateful for the opportunity to participate as a PMF and honored to be of service as part of the ITA family.
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A Day in the Life of a First-Tour CS Officer
Ricardo Pelaez is a first-tour Commercial Officer serving with the U.S. and Foreign Commercial Service in Taipei. He and his team of three Commercial Specialists covers a broad spectrum of industry sectors including consumer goods, education, architecture/construction/engineering, environmental technologies, and power generation. Before joining CS Taipei in August 2008, Ricardo served as a Senior International Trade Specialist in the U.S. and Foreign Commercial Service’s Cleveland, OH and Akron, OH U.S. Export Assistance Centers for over 10 years.
Greetings from Taipei!
Today was a really busy day for me here, but I’m excited and satisfied with the day’s results. Following a typical morning of meeting with each member of my team and checking emails, I attended a fellow officer’s going away lunch. After lunch I was headed for a public diplomacy speaking engagement at YuDa High School. This school has been selected to act as the host sponsor of the U.S. Deaflympic Team. Taipei will host the 2009 Deaflympics, an official event of the International Olympic Committee, this September. This school of 5,500 Taiwan students will cheer on over 300 athletes and coaches representing the United States and over 5,000 athletes and coaches representing 81 countries. As part of the school’s preparations, they invited me to come and speak to them about “U.S. Culture and Values.”
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Commercial Service Taipei Team Meeting. Department of Commerce photo |
The most exciting part of the day was the final event on my schedule. After several months of planning, long hours, and hard work, CS Taipei finally kicked off the first of three “America Month” retail events promoting several hundred U.S. brands to Taiwan consumers. In recent years, CS Taipei has organized several America Month events with local retail partners, but this year we were looking to hit a homerun. CS Taipei partnered with three of Taiwan’s largest retailers, including Miramar Entertainment Park and Shin Kong Mitsukoshi Department Store in Taipei, and Dream Mall down in Kaohsiung.
We, and the American Institute in Taiwan’s (AIT) Agricultural Trade Office, have been collaborating with our retail partners to invite every single U.S. brand and franchise in their retail outlets to participate in this fantastic opportunity. We also helped each of our partners recruit special vendors, identify and invite entertainment performers, create a media exposure plan, and do whatever else we can do within our capacity to ensure the success of the America Month.
June 24 was the official opening of the America Month event at Miramar, a shopping mall that also boasts a Ferris wheel, a movie theater and an IMAX. Miramar’s theme is “American Beauty and Strength,” reflecting the American lifestyle, its free spirit, and multifaceted culture.
During the America Month, over 100 American brands at Miramar, including apparel, cosmetics, food and wine, and restaurants, are offering special activities and discounts to create a joyful and entertaining shopping experience. Miramar’s two-week long event will culminate on the Fourth of July. They have planned several activities to celebrate the 233rd anniversary of the U.S. Independence Day, including, a cheerleading performance, Hawaiian hula dance performance, and a grand finale 233-second fireworks display.
Mitsukoshi and Dream Mall have also launched their America Month campaigns as well. Mitsukoshi, for instance, is featuring a theme on U.S. Route 66. We have been helping them define the elements necessary to illustrate the Route 66 spirit. It is really exciting to see our months of work finally coming to fruition.
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Paris Air Show
Daniel Harris is Senior Commercial Officer, U.S. and Foreign Commercial Service at the U.S. Embassy, Paris.
If you enjoy the thrill of a heart-stopping experience, you should have been with me at the Paris Air Show this past week. The jet fighter screamed past the spectators, then stood on its tail and then shot straight up, engines roaring as if it were a rocket rather than an airplane. After gaining altitude, the fighter rolled over on its back in a long arc until the plane pointed straight down, accelerating rapidly towards the earth. As my heart rate started rising, the pilot pulled the fighter onto a smooth, level course in front of the crowd, which included six United States Senators and a host of other dignitaries from around the world.
Welcome to the Paris Air Show!
A highlight for me was the opening of the U.S. Pavilion, where I had the honor to introduce several distinguished Americans, especially Senator Daniel Inouye of Hawaii, the President’s Representative to the Paris Air Show, holder of the Congressional Medal of Honor and a much respected figure in and out of the U.S. Senate. Other speakers included the Secretary of the U.S. Air Force, Michael Donley and the U.S. Chargé d’Affairs, Mark Pekala.
Commercial Service Paris also escorted the members of the U.S. Congressional delegation from the Senate Appropriations Committee to their meetings at show. The delegation was led by its Chairman, Senator Inouye, accompanied by Senator Thad Cochran (Mississippi), Senator Tom Harkin (Iowa), Senator Richard Shelby (Alabama), Senator Byron Dorgan (North Dakota) and Senator Jim Inhofe (Oklahoma). The final highlight of the day was the opening night gala Aerospace Industries Association (AIA) reception for 1100 American exhibitors and guests at the residence of the U.S. Ambassador.
The Paris Air Show, Europe’s largest aerospace exhibition, takes place every two years at the Le Bourget exposition site and airport. Over 300 U.S. exhibitors, including 162 companies and American states exhibited inside the U.S. Pavilion (organized by Kallman Worldwide) – the largest national delegation at the show. The Commerce Department’s acting Assistant Secretary for Manufacturing and Services, Mary Saunders, was also on site to meet with her counterparts from governments around the world who send representatives to this huge biennial event.
The activity was non-stop as business deals were discussed in the corporate “chalets” that line the flight line at the airfield, while enjoying great views of the flight demos. The CS team at the U.S. Commercial Service Paris (CS Paris) office within the U.S. Embassy Paris, together with the Office of Defense Cooperation (ODC), jointly support the commercial and military aspects of the show, with assistance from several other U.S. government agencies, including the FAA and NASA.
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Waste Expo Highlights the Latest Waste Management and Recycling Technologies
Vidya Kori has been with the International Trade Administration for 5 years. She currently serves as a Project Officer in the United States and Foreign Commercial Service’s International Buyer Program.
I am writing from the bustling International Business Center located at Waste Expo 2009, North America’s largest trade show serving the solid waste and recycling industries. Here in Las Vegas Nevada, over 500 exhibitors are showcasing the latest equipment and technologies the industry has to offer. There are also 40 conference sessions and training workshops led by industry experts on current topics such as Green Management and Technology, Recycling, Energy, and Landfill Operations. The International Trade Administration’s (ITA) own Marc Lemmond (a trade specialist from ITA’s Office of Energy and Environmental Industries, a part of the Manufacturing and Services unit) was one of the speakers at a seminar titled E-Waste: New Laws, New Programs. Although this seminar took place on the pre-exhibition day, well over 100 people were in attendance at this seminar, even with 3 other concurrent sessions going on! Marc enlightened the audience on the international drivers for electronics recycling. The seminar focused on the fact that discarded electronics should be considered a recyclable commodity, not waste - for this reason, the recycling community prefers the term “e-scrap” to e-waste. The falling cost of electronics, transition to digital TV, and new technologies such as LED are making discarded electronics the fastest growing segment of the municipal waste stream. U.S. and international regulations are reinforcing market opportunities for shredding, sorting, and treatment technologies for electronics recycling. The session was very popular and well-received!
As a participant in the International Buyer Program (IBP), Waste Expo was promoted by United States and Foreign Commercial Service (USFCS) around the world resulting in USFCS Specialists recruiting and leading buyer delegations here to meet U.S. exhibitors from Vietnam, Romania, Japan, Ukraine, Saudi Arabia, Dominican Republic, Kenya, Nigeria, Ghana and Cameroon. It’s been great to see so many international buyer delegates meeting with U.S. companies here in the International Business Center! The show also features a U.S. Export Pavilion with representatives from within the Department of Commerce (Census and Commercial Service) and Export Import Bank. "I've been to several trade shows over the past few years and there seems to be a higher percentage of U.S. manufactured goods and services in this industry than in the other shows," stated Kelly Kemp from Export Import Bank.
It is only the first day of the 2.5 half day exhibition and so many important introductions and meetings have taken place. I’m excited to see what the next two days have to offer and commend all the Commerce and government representatives at the show for all their hard work on making this show a great success! For other shows participating in the IBP, you should check out www.export.gov/IBP.
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Be Brief, Be Bright, Be Gone
Walter Bastian is Deputy Assistant Secretary of Commerce for the Western Hemisphere, a part of Market Access and Compliance.
From June 1 to June 5, I had the opportunity to lead a group of U.S. business executives on a trade mission to Santiago, Chile and Lima, Peru. The mission was comprised of executives pursuing business opportunities across a wide range of manufacturing and service sectors. The results were impressive.
Chile and Peru were selected as target markets for a variety of reasons, including market potential and ease of doing business. These factors were enhanced by the existence of free trade agreements each has with the United States. Besides the eventual elimination of all tariffs on U.S. products entering these markets, these agreements establish clear and transparent rules for the conduct of business with U.S. firms. These agreements have worked. In the case of Chile, U.S. exports in 2008 were up 49.4 percent over the year before and in Peru, U.S. exports were up 51 percent over the same period. U.S. exports to Chile are up 345 percent since 2004 when the agreement went into effect. Last year, Peru was the fastest growing export market in the Western Hemisphere.
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Daycare center funded by U.S. companies and United Way Chile. (Department of Commerce photo) |
The heart of the mission is the business matchmaking service provided by the U.S. and Foreign Commercial Service in both countries. Each company had appointments each day with prescreened local companies. The mission participants also had the opportunity to meet and talk to members of the U.S. and local business communities at events hosted by the embassies. The days were full. Meals became business meetings. The business days lasted well into the night.
Chris Hood of Coastal International Logistics, LLC, noted that his business philosophy was to “be brief, be bright, be gone.” He had a contract before leaving the first stop. He and the other mission members seemed to adhere to the same philosophy and contributed to a highly successful trade mission.
While mission members were busy developing new clients and pursuing commercial opportunities, I met with government officials to pursue issues which would further enhance the competitiveness of U.S. firms in these markets. I met with customs officials, economy and energy ministers, business groups and NGOs. I also visited examples of U.S. corporate social responsibility and highlighted the value of partnerships with the U.S. private sector.
The mission was truly representative of a public/private sector partnership. In the end, the public and private sectors accomplished their mutual objectives of contributing to the economic growth of the United States and creating U.S. jobs through exports.
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Globalization in the Midst of Recession- Prominent Business and Government Officials Headline Utah's World Trade Week Conference
Posted: June 4, 2009 (This post was written on May 20, 2009.)
Dave Fiscus is the Director of the U.S. Foreign & Commercial Service's Utah Export Assistance Center, where he helps Utah companies compete and succeed in the international marketplace. He's been with the International Trade Administration for ten years.
Greetings from Salt Lake City, home of the 2002 Winter Olympics and one of the fastest growing export markets in the country! I'm here at Zions Bank's 8th Annual International Trade and Business Conference. Zions Bank, a corporate partner of the U.S. Foreign & Commercial Service (CS), has assembled a great cast of speakers to address this year's topic, "Globalization in the Midst of Recession." Zions Bank's President and CEO, Scott Anderson, just provided opening remarks, in which the Zions Bank-CS partnership featured prominently (a great highlight for the CS and for the corporate partnership program!).
Over 800 members of Utah's business community turned out for this half day event of presentations from officials representing all sectors of the economy from government to manufacturing to academia.
Rick Wade, Senior Advisor and Deputy Chief of Staff for the Department of Commerce just concluded his kick-off remarks. They were spot on with the theme of the conference and very well received by attendees. He pointed out that Secretary of Commerce Gary Locke said in his confirmation hearing that he is committed to "work every day to make the Commerce Department an engine for improving our competitiveness, encouraging innovation, and creating jobs." Furthermore, he stated that partnerships are a critical component of this goal, and the Secretary and our team intend to strengthen our relationships with business, other federal agencies, and state and local organizations to position the United States as a global leader in exports and innovation.
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Rick Wade, Deputy Chief of Staff, Department of Commerce, speaks at the Zions Bank's 8th Annual International Trade and Business Conference in Salt Lake City, Utah on May 20, 2009. (U.S. Department of Commerce photo) |
The audience also just heard that last year, exports accounted for 13 percent of U.S. economic growth and supported millions of jobs in the United States. The U.S. exported an astounding $1.84 trillion worth of goods and services. To put this in historical context, exports accounted for nearly 10 percent of our gross domestic product five years earlier and 5 percent 40 years ago.
Governor Jon M. Huntsman, Jr., who was recently appointed as the next U.S. Ambassador to China by President Obama, just stopped by to accept Utah's "Internationalist of the Year Award". The Governor provided remarks, underscoring the theme of the day. A fitting send-off for a leader who made Utah's global competitiveness a hallmark of his tenure at the helm of the state.
Well, we're going into a break and my colleague Jeff Hamilton and I need to head over to the Commercial Service Utah table in the exhibitor information section of the conference alongside Trade Promotion Coordinating Committee partners Ex-Im Bank and SBA as well as various local trade multipliers. Russell Roberts, Professor of Economics at George Mason University and Tom Donohue, President and CEO of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce are slated to round out the day's agenda.
Best from the American West!
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Pow Wow Kicks Off in Miami
Posted: June 2, 2009 (This post was written on May 20, 2009)
Helen Marano is the Director of the Office of Travel and Tourism Industries which serves as the National Tourism Office for the United States. She has worked in the travel and tourism industry for 18 years.
I am writing you from Pow Wow in sunny Miami. Pow Wow is the travel and tourism industry’s premier international sales and marketing event. It’s great to be here with a strong federal presence from the Departments of State and Homeland Security, as well as our Travel & Tourism Team from the U.S. Commercial Service. Part of our mission at Pow Wow is to educate international travel leaders about new entry and exit programs and provide the latest information about U.S. travel destinations programs, and inbound visitation statistics.
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International Trade Administration Travel and Tourism Team. U.S. Department of Commerce photo. |
It’s exciting to see over 4,000 attendees here from all over the world. They’re folks from State Tourism offices, cities, attractions, hotels, travel journalists and foreign buyers of U.S. travel and tourism products and services. It is great to see commerce at work with more than 50,000 appointments between buyers and sellers taking place this week. These negotiations typically generate over $3 billion in future travel to the United States.
Today, Commerce Secretary Gary Locke spoke at Pow Wow’s closing luncheon. He said, “I am especially pleased to note that travel and tourism is responsible for over one-fourth of all services exports for the United States. And for the 20th consecutive year, travel and tourism produced a travel trade surplus for the U.S. – a record $29.7 billion.” He went on to say, “What is impossible to count are the friendships that were formed, the perspectives that were broadened, or the discoveries that were made about a new culture and country as a result of traveling to the United States.”
Events like Pow Wow are an excellent opportunity for individual destinations like Miami to showcase their attractions and venues to international buyers. Pow Wow shows how resilient the travel and tourism industry is and what an engine it is for economic growth. Events such as Pow Wow help generate more visitors to the U.S., more dollars spent, and more jobs created.
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World Trade Week Begins
Jeremy Caplan is a public affairs specialist in the International Trade Administration’s Office of Public Affairs.
On May 6, 2009, President Barak Obama issued a presidential proclamation that May 17-May 23, 2009, be observed as World Trade Week and encouraged “all Americans to observe this week with events, trade shows, and educational programs that celebrate the benefits of trade to our Nation and the global economy.”
Since international trade is what we’re all about here at the International Trade Administration, it probably won’t surprise anyone that we look forward to World Trade Week every year and are involved quite a few events and other goings on this week and throughout the month. We are planning to have new World Trade Week related content on the ITA Blog each day this week, so please check in every day this week to see what’s new. Thanks and see you soon!
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U.S. Travel and Tourism: The Little Engine that Could
Sean Timmins is an International Trade Specialist on the Trade Missions Team in the U.S. & Foreign Commercial Service. He is currently on rotation in the Office of Travel and Tourism Industries which serves as the National Tourism Office for the United States.
I am writing you today from the steps of the Smithsonian Institution’s National Portrait Gallery in downtown Washington, D.C. where members of Congress and tourism leaders from the public and private sector are participating in the first ever U.S. Travel Rally Day. We are partnering with Destination DC (the local convention and visitors bureau) and the U.S. Travel Association to celebrate the importance of the travel and tourism industry to the United States’ economy. Similar rallies are taking place in 36 cities across the country, from Seattle to Orlando and Albuquerque to Cincinnati.
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Helen Marano (right), Director, Office of Travel and Tourism Industries, with Washington Capitals mascot "Slapshot" on the steps of the National Portrait Gallery while participating in U.S. Travel Rally Day. (U.S. Department of Commerce photograph.) |
Did you know that the U.S. travel and tourism industry accounts for 2.6% of total U.S. GDP? Over 8 million American jobs are supported by the travel and tourism industry and almost a million of those jobs are supported by international travelers coming to the U.S. It’s important to remember that travel and tourism not only creates and supports jobs in hotels, airlines, and car rental companies, but also in restaurants, movie theaters, bars, malls, gas stations, coffee shops, amusement parks and just about anywhere else that provides a service. In 2008, a record 58 million international visitors came to the United States. The largest number came from Canada, followed by Mexico, the United Kingdom, Japan and Germany.
My boss, Helen Marano (Director, Office of Travel and Tourism Industries), said “Travel is the ultimate freedom. Peoples from every nation can get away from their daily lives to experience new destinations, ‘walk in different shoes,’ meet people from different cultures, and learn to appreciate both their differences and their similarities.” She went on to say, “Travel builds bridges between peoples and cultures. Travel builds understanding between peoples and cultures. Travel builds diplomacy.”
May is a big month for U.S. travel and tourism. Next week, the travel and tourism industry’s premier international sales and marketing event, Pow Wow, will take place in Miami. More than 4,200 attendees have registered, including more than 1,600 international travel buyers and nearly 400 journalists from over 70 countries. Helen will be blogging from Miami, so check back next week to hear what she’s got to say about this event!
So get out there and do your part – become a traveler. You can start by logging onto www.DiscoverAmerica.com, a promotional website that was developed through a cooperative agreement between the United States Department of Commerce and the U.S. Travel Association.
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DOC and DOT Connected to Address Supply Chain Issues
Bruce Harsh is responsible for Commerce’s Distribution and Supply Chain unit and has been with the Department about 24 years.
America's economy depends on the health of our country's supply chain infrastructure. Problems with the supply chain are not readily noticeable until you don’t get the part you need to keep your supply chain in operation, or the gift you were looking for at a store during the holiday season. Not only do supply chain problems make America’s producers and consumers mad, they are clearly linked to our economic recovery and long-term economic growth.
Supply chains don't just move products and goods, they also support jobs. One recent report by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce suggests that approximately 110 million U.S. jobs or nearly 80 percent of the entire workforce is critically dependent on our supply chain and transportation infrastructure.
This past Monday, leading supply chain stakeholders met in Washington, DC at the joint Department of Commerce-Department of Transportation conference titled, “Game Changers in the Supply Chain Infrastructure: Are We Ready to Play?” to hold a frank discussion with decision-makers on how to deal with current problems that minimize their ability get those products and services to consumers in a timely, safe, and environmentally-friendly manner and to develop a world-class network to reduce the chance of “game changers” thwarting these goals in the future.
The discussion stirred up lots of suggestions and comments. Panelists and audience participants emphasized that restoring America’s manufacturing jobs depends on not just fixing one part of the supply chain infrastructure but to look at these issues from the start at the manufacturer’s factory floor , or field, to the consumer’s house or company facility. They encouraged governmental agencies to come together to develop a holistic, comprehensive national freight policy that promotes the supply chains and assures America’s competitive advantage in the 21st century.
These suggestions were heard and many participants appreciated seeing two secretaries, Secretary of Commerce Gary Locke and Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood, stand together to say they were going to have their agencies work together to meet these goals. Many participants also appreciated hearing leading experts share how they would minimize those “game changers” that produce constraints and chokepoints, and offer ways for the government to encourage innovative information technologies, improve security and resilience, and do all of this in an environmentally sound manner to restore America’s world-class transportation network.
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Vietnam's Emerging Telecom Market Creates New Trade Opportunities
Senior International Trade Specialist Cora Dickson joined the U.S. Department of Commerce’s International Trade Administration in 2001. She helped to establish the U.S.-Vietnam Information and Communications Technologies (ICT) Dialogue, an interagency initiative led by ITA.
Last month on my second visit to Vietnam, it was evident that U.S. companies are taking a keen interest in Vietnam’s telecom market. As an analyst I can tell you several objective reasons why Vietnam holds such potential, but seeing it firsthand makes me a believer.
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A cellular phone store in Hanoi, Vietnam. (Dept. of Commerce photo) |
In the downtown streets of Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, cell phones are becoming as ubiquitous as the scooters, bicycles, and rickshaws. You might even see farmers in straw hats carrying their goods the old-fashioned way, balanced on a pole over their shoulders, but they have cell phones too.
Some Vietnamese citizens even have more than one cell phone, confounding those who try to keep accurate statistics on mobile subscribers in Vietnam. Furthermore, a major upgrade is about to happen in Vietnam now that the government has issued several spectrum licenses for “third generation” (3G) digital wireless services. The manufacturers of handsets and other equipment have been salivating for years at the potential 3G opportunities as they watched Vietnam’s market take off.
Of course it’s not all about mobile. Internet Service Providers (ISPs) are another growing business in Vietnam, and many of the ISPs are private enterprises formed within the past ten years. Most of the broadband services are concentrated in the two major urban areas but the government is actively promoting policies for build out to the rural provinces. Meanwhile, reliable telecom infrastructure is absolutely essential to attract more foreign investment and multinational corporations (MNCs) to Vietnam. Some U.S. telecom companies already serve the MNCs globally and they would like to add Vietnam branches to their networks.
While Vietnam’s telecom market is rapidly modernizing, the telecom regulatory framework still reflects the pre-WTO accession mindset. However, new rules are taking shape through draft legislation that will bring Vietnam’s laws in line with its WTO commitments. I’ve been hearing from U.S. companies who have been eagerly awaiting this legislation, which could really make it easier to do business in Vietnam. Thus, I worked with the Commercial Service post in Hanoi and Vietnam’s Ministry of Information and Communications (MIC) to organize a half-day seminar on April 18th focusing on Vietnam’s draft telecom law.
The U.S. companies left the seminar with the impression that MIC had been willing to listen to their input and will continue to engage with the private sector as they refine the text of the bill, which is expected to be adopted by Vietnam’s National Assembly by the end of the year.
I left Hanoi feeling satisfied as a catalyst for a robust exchange of views between the U.S. companies and the Vietnamese government.
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How Commercial Service Helps Exporters
Patrick McRae is a Foreign Service Officer with the U.S. & Foreign Commercial Service. He is currently assigned to the Grand Rapids,Michigan Export Assistance Center.
My colleagues and I assist Michigan-based firms access and develop foreign markets. Truth be told though, many small or medium-sized firms were quite reluctant to consider international sales, especially when things were going so well domestically…
Economic downturn, however, has greatly enhanced our business community’s interest in international markets. In fact, I just had a conversation with a potential new-to-export firm that went something like this:
Me: “So, you have a good product here…you really should think about selling overseas.”
Potential Exporter: “Sell internationally? Don’t you have to be a major player to go international? I really need to increase sales! How do we go about it?”
At which point I assured him that almost any product is exportable, regardless of the size of the firm, and the Commercial Service can help make it happen!
Another counseling session successfully underway….
I went on to explain that the export process usually begins with an assessment of a firm’s “export readiness” where an international trade specialist sits down with the client to review the firm’s readiness to explore and implement export related activities.
Next comes the market research phase, where we identify “best prospect” markets. Commercial Service trade specialists carry out basic research, using an extensive array of trade data bases compiled and maintained by the ITA. These services are typically offered free of charge. Once basic research indicates potential export markets, our clients may choose to pursue specialized market research in order to gain more detailed market insight such as competitive presence, pricing, nature of relevant supply chains, etc. These services are typically provided for a small fee.
With this enhanced understanding of the target market, a client may wish to meet with key in-country contacts such as potential distributors, sales agents, strategic allies or joint venture partners. Through our Gold Key Service, we will identify, screen, select and set up meetings so that in a matter of days, clients may begin to forge the relationships that will be critical to future export success!
At this point, having gone through the pre-export research and planning process, you will design and implement a well thought-out international business plan and begin the cycle of planning-implementation-assessment-adjustment.
I wrapped up the conversation with an assurance that trade professionals throughout the ITA will be there to assist in the transition from export-novice to export-expert!
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The Greatest Shows on Earth
Doug Barry is a trade specialist with the Trade Information Center. You can talk to him and his colleagues by calling 1-800-USA-TRADE.
Trade shows are one of the best ways to generate international sales, and some of the world’s largest are found in Germany. Why there? Two reasons: Germans have been organizing shows since the Middle Ages, and Germany is a relatively easy flight for business folks from elsewhere on the continent, the Middle East, Africa and the United States.
So, Germany plays host to all kinds of industry shows including pet products, books, musical instruments, medical equipment, IT and more. Americans go there to meet buyers from everywhere—without having to spend a small fortune flying everywhere.
Filling the Order Books
I recently attended CeBIT, the world’s largest IT show held each year in Hannover. I went to make a video on what U.S. companies need to know to make sales there, beyond having a good product. What I found at CeBIT were many small U.S. companies, which were filling their order books for the next year by engaging in best practices including trolling the show website for prospects before arrival; signage tricks to attract traffic; ploys for generating industry press; and book-length strategies for finding and scoring points at parties that start at 5pm everyday with German precision.
Horns of a Dilemma
Now, with world trade in the doldrums, you might reasonably ask, “Why bother?” One answer is that trade is showing signs of life—U.S. exports were up 1.6 percent in February and are likely to return to their record pace. Second, the chance to get in front of eager buyers from countries your frequent flyer miles won’t reach is too good to ignore. Third, the International Trade Administration, through the U.S. Commercial Service, can help you before, during and after the show—generating prospects, finding low cost space, tutoring on business culture and protocol.
Last point: see for yourself. Here are five videos covering the show; what the Commercial Service can do for you; best practices for making sales; protecting your intellectual property; and mixing business with pleasure.
Been to or want to go to an international trade show? Share your best practices and ask your questions in this space.
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Trade Stats Express: Using the Tools the Pros Use to Find New Export Markets
Slade Broom has been with the International Trade Administration for five years. He currently serves as the Senior Advisor to the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Industry Analysis.
As an analyst with the International Trade Administration (ITA), the data that I use in my analysis of international trade has to be timely and accurate. Dependable data helps ITA’s analysts and economists develop strategies and recommendations that lead directly to sound economic policies. Better still, you can use this data to analyze trade flows and foreign markets that can make your business more competitive.
My office, the Office of Industry Analysis, serves as ITA’s gateway to economic data. The tools that I use every day to analyze trade flows and industry output aren’t just limited to government use: they’re available for your business as well! Best of all, they’re easy to use and they’re available 24 hours a day, free of charge.
One of the tools I use daily is Trade Stats Express (TSE). In less time than it takes you to brew a cup of coffee, you can use TSE to learn that in 2008 alone:
- The U.S. exported over $1.3 trillion worth of merchandise to the international community.
- Of those exports, more than $1.1 trillion were manufactured goods.
- Total goods exports from the U.S. grew by 11.8% over 2007.
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Trade Stats Express offers tools to retrieve, visualize, analyze, download and print export, import and trade balance data at the national and state level, as well as by industry. |
You may be asking “How does that help me better understand my industry and potential markets for trade?” The answer is in TSE’s entire suite of tools. TSE provides micro-level trade data that can show you trade patterns for a specific product (i.e. Harmonized System Codes), a specific industry (i.e. NAICS codes), from a specific state (e.g. Texas), and to a specific market (e.g. New Zealand). This information can provide you with tools for you to determine new markets where your products can be viable. You can even sort your results by dollar amount, dollar change, and percent change over prior year.
For example, by employing the State Export Data function on TSE, a furniture manufacturer (NAICS 337) in Michigan could determine that, in 2008:
- The international market represented more than $4.5 billion in total exports of U.S. furniture and related products, and U.S. sales internationally expanded by almost $549 million since 2007.
- Canada and Mexico were the largest importers of furniture from Michigan, but Saudi Arabia (118% growth), Mexico (113% growth), Qatar (28%) and the United Arab Emirates (21%) showcased rapid growth within the top 10 foreign markets for Michigan’s furniture. Overall, Michigan’s furniture exports grew by almost 17%, an increase of nearly $72.6 million.
- Michigan’s furniture exports account for nearly $503 million of the $40 billion in exports of manufactured goods.
Tools like TSE provide an additional source of information for American businesses to use in examining and targeting foreign markets for new sales. And the best part is that this is one of many tools that ITA has to offer. Check out ITA’s Industry Trade Data and Analysis website to see what additional tools and reports can assist you!
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World IP Day
Andrea Cornwell is an International Trade Specialist with the Office of Intellectual Property Rights in the International Trade Administration’s Market Access & Compliance unit.
Intellectual property surrounds us almost constantly. And it’s not just McDonald’s trademark Golden Arches or Apple’s patented iPod technology or Miley Cyrus’ latest copyrighted album. For instance, I would bet that you create content protected by copyright nearly every day. Have you written an email today? Have you doodled on your notebook during a meeting or class this week? Have you snapped a family photo recently? If so, then you’re an author – an author with a copyrighted work.
The fact that intellectual property rights (IPR) exist in so many facets of our daily lives just goes to show that our Founding Fathers were right – provide people with legal protection for their inventions and creative works, and technology will advance, knowledge will spread, and societies will progress. Did you know that our Constitution authorizes Congress to protect inventors’ and authors’ creative works? Or, that our current trademark law preserves a long American heritage of 120-plus years of protection for our entrepreneurs’ trade names, logos, and the like?
In fact, IPR is so essential to continued global development and trade that each year we celebrate World Intellectual Property Day on April 26th. This year, World IP Day focuses on Green Innovation and the important role of IPR in promoting the advancement and diffusion of increasingly critical technologies for the mitigation of climate change. This coincides nicely with widespread celebration of Earth Day on April 22nd, and provides us with an opportunity to proudly say that, as global environmental needs evolve, our American entrepreneurs are developing new means for addressing them. According to the House Small Business Committee, the renewable and efficiency industries, comprised of more than 90% small firms, created 8 million new jobs in 2006. The U.S. Conference of Mayors estimates that by 2038, the American green tech industry’s development could add another 4.2 million jobs to the economy.
So, you see, the fundamental IPR principle established so many years ago still rings true today – IPR protection is essential to encouraging innovation and competitiveness. This is particularly relevant to the growing green tech industry, as both U.S. industry and our global community stand to see great benefits from new technologies and methods for addressing climate change. As Francis Gurry, Director General of the UN’s World Intellectual Property Organization, recently said, “The power of human ingenuity is our best hope for restoring the delicate balance between ourselves and our environment.” This World IP Day, the International Trade Administration welcomes the celebration of Green Innovation and our green technology industry.
For more information on IPR and ITA’s activities related to IPR, please visit StopFakes.gov.
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80 U.S. Companies Test the European Market in Poland
Rochelle J. Lipsitz is the Acting Assistant Secretary for Trade Promotion and the Director General of the U. S. and Foreign Commercial Service.
I am writing to you live from Warsaw, Poland, here with 80 U.S. companies at our third Annual Trade Winds Forum.
Did you know this year is the U.S.’s 90th year of diplomatic relations with Poland? It’s amazing to consider how far Poland has come since the years of Woodrow Wilson. Today, Poland’s economy is one of the best performers in Europe and, despite the global economic crisis, it is still growing at about 1% per annum, while many countries are still struggling. In addition to having a stable government and about $15 billion of U.S. investment, it serves as an anchor market for U.S. companies trying to sell to Central and Eastern Europe – which is why the U.S. Commercial Service and our clients are here.
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Acting Assistant Secretary for Trade Promotion and Director General of the U.S. and Foreign Commercial Service Rochelle J. Lipsitz (left) with representatives from U.S. company Taking the Waters, a spa treatment company, at the Trade Winds Forum in Warsaw, Poland. (U.S. Department of Commerce Photo) |
Eighty U.S. companies have joined us to participate in more than 800 individual meetings with our Senior Commercial Officers from 28 U.S. Embassies across Europe who are giving them an individual assessment of sales opportunities in countries from Portugal to Kazakhstan. During the three meetings I have been able to observe so far, clients and Officers discussed market potential and how to find business partners. They compared notes on trade shows and discussed logistics. And, a lot of discussion focused on how to get paid – especially in our current credit crunch. Throughout these back-to-back, 20-minute counseling sessions – which looked a lot like speed dating – the company representatives were able to learn how their products would fare in various countries and the steps they should take to successfully enter the market. The room was just buzzing with energy! The goal is that the U.S. companies will walk away from these two days with a strategy for selling throughout Europe.
We don’t only want them to take home a strategy though, but business too. So we’ve also arranged nearly 400 meetings for the U.S. companies with Polish buyers and potential partners. Nearly 40% of the companies attending the Trade Winds Forum are repeat attendees who were at last year’s program in Istanbul, Turkey. Firms from that event reported dozens of export sales as a result of their meetings, and we look forward to the same great results this year.
When the event is done, the U.S. Commercial Service will have arranged nearly 1,200 meetings for these U.S. companies to help them increase their international sales! Why do we do this, you ask? Because increasing international sales stimulates our economy by creating higher-paying jobs at home.
I look forward to writing again about how the U.S. Commercial Service is helping U.S. companies sell overseas…. Maybe next time you’ll be here too!
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We Have Launched a Blog
Jeremy Caplan is a public affairs specialist in the International Trade Administration’s Office of Public Affairs.
Yes, government blogs are a hot topic in some quarters these days. In the public and within the government itself, there is a healthy mix of excitement and [insert a negative word of your choice] about what they might be able to help accomplish and how smooth or bumpy the road to get there may be. At the International Trade Administration, we think that the blog format could be a great way for us to engage citizens, businesses, and our other stakeholders in a new way (for us as an organization, at least) in a discussion about what we do and why do it, so we decided to launch a blog.
The ITA Blog is to be a study of international trade and the issues involved between us at ITA and you, the trade-interested community. It is meant to be an ongoing dialogue about how trade benefits U.S. businesses and what ITA is doing to helping them achieve those benefits. The ITA Blog will be a new channel to provide context for trade promotion, policy and analysis to show how trade fits into the bigger picture. It will answer questions about what is trade and why is it important?
The ITA Blog will feature blog posts written by ITA employees at all levels. From our trade specialists working directly with companies to help them achieve their first exports to our analysts working in Washington cubicles to our senior officials, we will show you what ITA is doing on trade.
What comes next after the blog entries are posted is up to you. We will provide you an opportunity to reply to our blog posts and we look forward to engaging you in discussions about the questions and issues they raise. So, please, join us as we take up the study of international trade.
A note on blog functionality: As we begin our international trade adventure with you here on the ITA Blog, you may notice the absence of some normal blog features (RSS feeds, categories, etc). We know that they are needed and will add them as soon as we can. Those of you that have worked with the government before probably know that simple is never as simple as it should be. We know that here, too.
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The ITA blog Tradeology is not affiliated with http://tradeologyusa.com/. This link is provided as reference only and does not reflect an endorsement of the goods or services of Tradeology USA.
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- U.S. Firms Shining Bright (Green) in Copenhagen
- Green Building Takes Root in Copenhagen
- Green Build Wrap: The Commercial Service Steps Up
- The Green Wave Reaches Phoenix, as the Greenbuild Expo Opens
- Thinking About Europe From San Francisco on the Green Build Road Show
- Do You Know the Way ... to San Jose's 'Green Hub'?
- The Green Build Road Show Hits the National Renewable Energy Laboratory
- Green Build Road Show – Moving on to Denver
- From Inside a Greenbuild Environment, Day Two of the Greenbuild Road Show!
- A Great Start to the Green Build Road Show!
- Sustainability and U.S. Competitiveness Summit
- Energy Efficiency: A Key Component of U.S. Competitiveness
- Big Business at Big Iron
- OTEXA Scores Global Exposure for US Military Textiles at DSEi 2009
- Serving the U.S. Business Community in South Africa
- Asian-Pacific FDI Contributions to U.S. Economy
- The Road to Copenhagen
- Commercial Service + Corporate Partners = U.S. Exporter Success!
- infoComm09, an IBP Event, has Its Biggest East Coast Show in History
- Sustainable Manufacturing Tour
- Honoring a Man and his Legacy as a Presidential Management Fellow
- A Day in the Life of a First-Tour CS Officer
- Paris Air Show
- Waste Expo Highlights the Latest Waste Management and Recycling Technologies
- Be Brief, Be Bright, Be Gone
- Globalization in the Midst of Recession
- Pow Wow Kicks Off in Miami
- World Trade Week Begins
- U.S. Travel and Tourism: The Little Engine that Could
- DOC and DOT Connected to Address Supply Chain Issues
- Vietnam's Emerging Telecom Market Creates New Trade Opportunities
- How Commercial Service Helps Exporters
- The Greatest Shows on Earth
- Trade Stats Express: Using the Tools the Pros Use
- World IP Day
- 80 US Companies Test the European Market in Poland
- We Have Launched a Blog