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

 

World Trade News and Events - January 2017

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

LOCAL NEWS AND EVENTS
- U.S. Commercial Service Proposed Fee Increase: We Want to Hear From You - Comment deadline Jan. 21
- Northwest Minnesota ExporTech Session Ends With Success
- 2017 USA Pavilions for Agricultural Machinery
- Parting Messages From Commercial Service Director General
- Gain Leadership Experience through Emerging Leaders USA
- Selling Equipment to Russia Webinar - February 7

NATIONAL / INTERNATIONAL NEWS
- More Chinese Are Sending Younger Children to Schools in U.S.
- The Major Potential Impact of a Corporate Tax Overhaul

NATIONAL / INTERNATIONAL EVENTS
- FOR PETS Prague - March 15

WEBINARS
- Business Opportunities in the UK Security Market - January 25

LOCAL NEWS AND EVENTS

U.S. Commercial Service Proposed Fee Increase: We Want to Hear From You - Comment deadline Jan. 21
There is a proposal to raise fees on U.S. exporters and Economic Development Organizations (EDOs) that use the services provided by the U.S. Commercial Service. The proposed increase would raise 8 services including the Gold Key Service by 36% for small companies and 48% on large companies. We are soliciting feedback as part of the official process to solicit public opinion on major changes in government programming. The comment period has been extended until January 21, 2017. To leave a comment, click here. To view the fee increase announcement and tips for effective comments, click the text.

Northwest Minnesota ExporTech Session Ends With Success
Five northwestern Minnesota companies participated in the most recent ExporTech session, which concluded on January 12. Over a three month time frame, all five companies developed in-depth international growth plans with the support of a coach, in-depth market research support and a team of experts and peers who provide one-on-one support to each participating company. The participating companies are now positioned to make key decisions in executing their export strategies. Representatives from the City of Ada, Senator Klobuchar and Senator Franken's office participated in the closing session. Organizing partners include the U.S. Commercial Service Fargo and Minneapolis offices, Enterprise Minnesota, the ND District Export Council, Stone & Associates and NIST / MEP; and sponsoring partners included the West Central Initiative, Minnesota Trade Office and FedEx.

2017 USA Pavilions for Agricultural Machinery
The U.S. Commercial Service Agribusiness Team is pleased to announce the USA Pavilions for agricultural machinery in 2017. A pavilion can help maximize your presence at overseas agricultural machinery shows and allows access to market research, logistics support, and more. See 2017 USA Pavilions for Agricultural Machinery for full details and participating trade shows.

Parting Messages from Commercial Service Director General
Commercial Service Director General Arun Kumar recently wrote two blogs published in the Huffington Post. North Dakota's own Heather Ranck was highlighted for her innovative ideas, leadership, and service to the Commercial Service in the second article. The U.S. Commercial Service: Serving SMEs and U.S. businesses around the world and Reflecting on Public Service: Perceptions and Realities can be found by clicking the links.

Gain Leadership Experience through Emerging Leaders USA
The Small Business Administration (SBA) will be offering an Emerging Leaders program for small businesses in Fargo, North Dakota. The program will start in mid-April 2017 and end in October 2017. Participants will need to commit to 40 hours of in class time divided over 13 in-person sessions. Sessions are typically every other week. For more information visit www.sba.gov/emergingleaders. Interested applicants should register online at: http://www.interise.org/sbaemergingleaders no later than March 1, 2017.

Selling Equipment to Russia Webinar
Join the U.S. Commercial Service for an equipment exporters webinar Tuesday February 7, 2017 at 10 AM CST. This free webinar will feature the CS Moscow's  Katya Lushpina along with experts from the Russian logistics, certification, legal, and media organizations. To register, click here.

By joining you will learn about:

• Transportation and customs clearance
• Certification and registration
• Financial aspects of dealing with Russian customers
• Opportunities in the agricultural market 
  

For more information along with questions you may have, contact Yekaterina.Lushpina@trade.gov or Andrew.Anderson@trade.gov.

NATIONAL / INTERNATIONAL NEWS

More Chinese Are Sending Younger Children to Schools in U.S. ( Wall Street Journal)
This Wall Street Journal article offers an interesting look at the changing trend of Chinese families sending children to secondary and primary school in America. It can be read by clicking here.

The Major Potential Impact of a Corporate Tax Overhaul
There is growing consensus that U.S. corporate income tax policy is one area in need of reform and several proposals are now surfacing. Neil Irwin writes for the New York Times about the impact a corporate tax overhaul, specifically a border adjustable tax that would especially impact importers and exporters. Irwin cites Alan Auerbach, an macro-economist at UC Berkeley. Click here to read.

NATIONAL / INTERNATIONAL EVENTS

FOR PETS Prague: Discover Central & Eastern Europe with the Commercial Service
The Commerce Department is pleased to offan an opportunity to promote U.S. pet products in the Czech Republic at the upcoming FOR PETS Prague trade fair. The show will cover a wide range of pet products ranging from pet foods to pet cosmetics and services. The fair is held concurrently with the FOR FAMILY fair and they receive over 30,000 visitors per year.

The registration deadline is March 15th, 2017, along with a fee of $100. For more information and to register, contact Veronika Novakova (Veronika.Novakova@trade.gov Tel: 00420 257 022 437).

WEBINARS

Business Opportunities in the UK Security Market
Interested in the UK Security Market? Join us for a free webinar on January 25th to learn more about opportunities for U.S. physical & cyber security firms.

The U.S. Embassy London will be briefing U.S. companies on the UK security market, which continues to benefit from the focus on national security, counter terrorism, and critical national infrastructure protection.  Companies will learn about:

• the growing UK security market and opportunities in physical security and cyber security.
• the ease of doing business in the UK and the financially sound pipeline of infrastructure mega-projects
• UK government procurement processes and how to position their company for success
• the implications of Brexit 

Date: Wednesday, January 25th, 2017
Time: 11:30am EST/ 10:30am CST
Cost:Free

To register for this event, click here.

 

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Your U.S. Commercial Service / North Dakota Office 

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

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