News and Events from the U.S. Commercial Service in Fargo, North Dakota

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World Trade News and Events - April 2016

Newsletter of the U.S. Commercial Service in Fargo, North Dakota

LOCAL NEWS AND EVENTS
- Megan Klosterman Departs U.S. Commercial Service / North Dakota
Bryan Starner Joins U.S. Commercial Service / North Dakota
Last Chance to Register for HTS / Schedule B Seminar in West Fargo - April 14
- Another Successful ExporTech on the Books

- Minnesota-Based Company is at Top of the Logistics Industry
- U.S. Oil Goes Global
- Canada's Farm Progress Show - June 15 - 17 in Regina, Saskatchewan

NATIONAL / INTERNATIONAL NEWS
- Six Ways Small Businesses Benefit from Export Control Reform
- Free Trade Agreement Tariff Tool

NATIONAL / INTERNATIONAL EVENTS
- Vietnam-U.S. Defense Industry Symposium - May 11 - 13
- U.S. Automotive Trade Missions to Peru, Guatemala, and El Salvador - May 17 - 29 and June 21 - 24
- USA Catalogue Show at AGRO 2016 - June 8 - 11

- International Congress on Personalized Health Care (ICPHC) - June 12 - 15 in Montreal, Canada
- Water Infrastructure Business Development Mission - July 14 - 22 in Singapore, Vietnam, and the Philippines

WEBINARS
- FREE: A Webinar on the Pet Products Industry - April 14
- Cybersecurity Webinar - April 14
- FREE: Global Aerospace and Defense Supply Chain Webinar - April 26
- Central America - Leverage the CAFTA-DR Opportunities to Expand your Exports Webinar - April 26

 

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LOCAL NEWS AND EVENTS

Megan Klosterman Departs U.S. Commercial Service
Megan Klosterman departed the Commercial Service in March after serving for 6 months as an intern. Megan has plans to study abroad in Ireland and visit several other European countries this summer. She will be graduating with a degree in Agricultural Economics from North Dakota State University in December.

bryanstarner

Bryan Starner Joins U.S. Commercial Service / North Dakota
Bryan Starner has joined the U.S. Commercial Service office in Fargo, North Dakota. Bryan grew up on a farm in Hoffman, Minnesota, and his undergraduate studies at Minnesota State University Moorhead have been in Finance. Bryan joins the U.S. Commercial Service as an intern in partnership with the North Dakota District Export Council with sponsorship from the North Dakota Trade Office Export Assistant Program.

Last Chance to Register for HTS / Schedule B Seminar on April 14 in West Fargo
Date: April 14, 2016
Location: West Fargo, ND
Cost: $275
Back in North Dakota for the third time by popular demand, Mike Allocca will be covering the topic of Harmonized Tariff System / Schedule B classification. Proper classification can be one of the hardest parts of importing/exporting. This program will help you begin to understand how to use the Harmonized Tariff System for imports and the Schedule B listing for exports. After the training you will know where to go for help and what to look at when beginning to look at your own products. Many companies are exposing themselves unnecessarily by not regularly reviewing or understanding their own classifications. Importers and exporters are required to use reasonable care and due diligence in determining accurate classifications. Why not learn how to begin that process and keep your company in compliance? Register here.

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Another Successful ExporTech on the Books
The ninth regional ExporTech program has just been completed in western North Dakota with six participating companies. ExporTech is a national program developed by the U.S. Commercial Service and NIST MEP and helps companies develop international expansion plans specific to their businesses. The program consists of three sessions over the course of several months. Local sponsors of the event included U.S. Commercial Service, North Dakota Trade Office, Impact North Dakota, the North Dakota District Export Council, FedEx, Dickinson State University Strom Center, and Stark Development Corporation. The U.S. Commercial Service provided in-depth customized market research and offered in-country assistance for all six participating companies. Another session for eastern North Dakota / northwestern Minnesota is planned for summer 2016 (May 12, June 23 and July 28). The course is limited to the first 8 companies who register, more details are available here.

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Minnesota-Based Company is at Top of the Logistics Industry
C.H. Robinson, based in Eden Prairie, Minnesota, and founded by a Grand Forks, North Dakota, native, is a global logistics firm that matches manufacturers, retailers, grocers, and more with cargo carriers. Whether it be by land or sea, the 100-year-old company finds the most efficient way to move goods from point A to point B. Having worked with nearly every Fortune 500 company in the country, Robinson has landed in the world's top-five third-party freight-moving companies, according to the Star Tribune. Learn more about C.H. Robinson and its climb to the top.

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U.S. Oil Goes Global
Just three short months after the U.S. lifted the ban on oil exports, the U.S. is exporting crude to virtually the entire world. The volume of U.S. exports, which is continually growing, is affecting the markets, according to Bloomberg Business. Although the exports are increasing, the U.S. is still a small exporter compared to OPEC, Mexico, and Russia. The rise in exports is partially explained by the cheap pipeline and railway costs of transporting crude from oil fields in states like North Dakota to the Gulf of Mexico.

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Canada's Farm Progress Show
Dates: June 15 - 17
Location: Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada
Cost: FREE for members of the official U.S. delegation
Registration deadline: ASAP
Canada's Farm Progress Show is an annual event in Regina, Saskatchewan, and has been dubbed "Canada's largest trade show" taking place this year on June 15 - 17. Last year, the show featured 700 exhibitors and almost 40,000 attendees highlighting dryland agricultural equipment. This year, the show's organizers will cover provide breakfasts, lunches, shuttle service, Gold Key Services, free access to the show, and 50% of airfare cost for five U.S. companies. Learn more or contact Heather.Ranck@trade.gov for more information.

NATIONAL / INTERNATIONAL NEWS

Six Ways Small Businesses Benefit from Export Control Reform
The Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) administers export controls, which protect the national and economic security interests of the United States by ensuring that the most sensitive goods and technologies stay out of the most dangerous hands. Companies continue to learn and adapt to the changes from the initiative. Small businesses in particular have found the changes to be particularly beneficial, as the reform effort has eliminated many regulatory burdens. There are six ways that small business benefit from Export Control Reform:

  1. There are no registration requirements with the Commerce Department.
  2. There are no fees for submitting license applications.
  3. There are no requirements to get permission merely to manufacture or to market abroad.
  4. There is no requirement to have a purchase order for each license application.
  5. Except in situations involving military and satellite items destined to countries subject to embargoes, the Commerce rules generally do not have a "see through" rule if the U.S. content is less than 25 percent.
  6. Most importantly, the Commerce regulations have multiple license excepts that do not exist in the State regulations.

Free Trade Agreement Tariff Tool
The International Trade Administration has recently released an updated Free Trade Agreement Tariff Tool (FTA Tariff Tool) to provide the latest information on tariffs on U.S. products exported to Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) partner markets. When fully entered into force, the TPP Agreement will eliminated more than 18,000 foreign taxes, or tariffs, that various countries place on Made-In-America exports. The tool simplifies the process to identify the Harmonized System Code (HS Code) for a specific product, identifies tariff rate information for TP markets, and identifies both current tariff rates and future tariff reductions under existing FTAs.

NATIONAL / INTERNATIONAL EVENTS

 Vietnam

Vietnam-U.S. Defense Industry Symposium
Dates: May 11 - 13
Location: Hanoi, Vietnam
Cost: $150 for individual attendees, $2,000 for companies
The U.S. Embassy in Hanoi and the Vietnam ministry of National Defense are organizing a Vietnam-U.S. Defense Industry Promotion Symposium, which will provide those U.S. firms seeking to do business with the Vietnamese defense industry the opportunity to explore products, ideas, and solutions. This event will allow U.S. participants the opportunity to meet directly with relevant agencies and departments to better understand their mid- to long-term requirements. Learn more and register as an individual or as a company!

U.S. Automotive Trade Missions to Peru, Guatemala, and El Salvador
Dates: May 17 - 18 (Peru), June 21 - 22 (Guatemala with optional stop in El Salvador)
Locations: Lima Peru; Guatemala City, Guatemala; San Salvador, El Salvador
Cost: As low as $1,000
The Auto Care Association and the International Trade Administration are offering two opportunities to enter and expand into growing Latin American automotive markets!  Through this mission, companies have access to one-on-one business appointments, market insights, business strategies, and easy travel logistics. . By participating in an official U.S. industry delegation, rather than traveling to these countries on your own, you benefit from enhanced ability to secure meetings with key industry players in those countries and gain greater exposure to the region. There is opportunity for companies to participate in this program for as low as $1,000 due to the support of the MDCP program. Learn more and register now!

USA Catalog Show at AGRO 2016
Dates: June 8 - 11
Location: Kyiv, Ukraine
Cost: $425
Registration Deadline: April 15
The U.S. Commercial Service Kyiv hopes to promote your company at Ukraine's major agricultural trade show - AGRO 2016 featuring all aspects of agricultural production, processing, and cultivation. Whether you are market testing, searching for a distributor or direct sales, sign up for the USA Catalogue Show, and we will conduct advance promotion on your behalf, display your company's catalog, provide a Results Report with names of prospective buyers/distributors, and promote your company on your CS Kyiv website for 6 months after the show has ended. Learn more!

International Congress on Personalized Health Care (ICPHC)
Dates: June 12 - 15
Location: Montreal, Canada
Cost: $595 CAN before April 11, $695 CAN after April 11
ICPHC 2016 will provide an opportunity for U.S. business representatives from the health care services and technology industry to meet and discuss their interests with Canadian government and businesses. The International Congress on Personalized Health Care is the world premier personalized health care congress. It gathers more than 1,000 specialists, researches, academics, clinicians, managers, economists, representatives of patient associations, ethicists, and experts from a plethora of fields in order to share ideas and pool resources with regards to the development of personalized medicine. Learn more and register now!

Water Infrastructure Business Development Mission to Singapore, Vietnam, and the Philippines
Dates: July 14 - 22
Location: Singapore; Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam; Manila, Philippines
Cost: $3,300 for SMEs (fewer than 500 employees), $4,500 for large firms
Registration Deadline: Space is limited; applications will not be accepted after April 29
The United States Department of Commerce, International Trade Administration is organizing an Executive-led Water Infrastructure Business Development Mission to Singapore, Vietnam, and the Philippines. These countries are part of the 10 member states comprising the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) which represent a region that received over $78 billion of merchandise exports from the United States in 2014. Register now.

WEBINARS

A Webinar on the Pet Products Industry in Czech Republic, Germany, Italy, and the United Kingdom
Date: April 14
Time: 11:00am CT
Cost: FREE
Growing consumer concerns about pet health and wellbeing are leading to a rise in demand for pet products. As a result, people are willing to spend time and money to ensure their pets have a good life. If you're seeking to expand sales in Europe or, if you're wondering how to best showcase your products to a larger audience in Europe, then join the U.S. Commercial Service for a complimentary webinar on the pet product market, trends, and opportunities in Europe with specific focus on the Czech Republic, Germany, Italy, and the United Kingdom. Learn more and register now!

Cybersecurity Webinar
Date: April 14
Time: 1:00pm CT
Cost: $25
The U.S. Commercial Service Vets Go Global team will host an in-depth webinar featuring experts who will discuss the critical components of intellectual property protection as you grow your business internationally and how to proactively manage your cybersecurity risks. During this webinar you will hear from experts on how to identify your IP and develop an IP management plan and strategy while avoiding common IP pitfalls as you grow your business internationally. You'll also learn about cybersecurity compliance standards and requirements and understand the latest realities on 21st century cybersecurity threats and defenses in order to proactively manage risk. Contact Murat Muftari at Murat.Muftari@trade.gov. Register now!

Global Aerospace and Defense Supply Chain Webinar
Date: April 26
Time: 12:00pm CT
Cost: FREE
Join the US Commercial Service and Kallman Worldwide in collaboration with KPMG, for a webinar on the Global Aerospace and Defense supply chain in advance of the 2016 Farnborough Airshow. The webinar will provide insight and advice to organizations looking to enter the UK Supply Chain as well as information on key trends in the sector, market entry support for the global and UK supply chain, and governing regulations and accreditations. Learn more and register now!

Central America - Leverage the CAFTA-DR Opportunities to Expand your Exports Webinar
Date: April 26
Time: 11:00am CT
Cost: $40
Want to learn more about the do's and don'ts of CAFTA documentation to ensure that your exports to Central America are processed smoothly under the terms of this Free Trade Agreement? If so, join us on April 26th to hear directly from the experts! We'll have an international business lawyer and U.S. Department of Commerce officials on hand to share best practices and specific tips to make your exporting easy. Learn more and register now!

 


Your U.S. Commercial Service / North Dakota Office 

 Heather Ranck Heather Ranck
Office Director and International Trade Specialist
Ph: 701-239-5080
Email: Heather.Ranck@trade.gov 
bryanstarner Bryan Starner
Export Assistant
Ph: 701-239-5033
Email: Bryan.Starner@trade.gov

US Commercial Service | United States Department of Commerce | 811 Second Ave. N | Suite 436 | Fargo | ND | 58102