ND Global News - Valley City's FEI Spreads North to Canada, Minneapolis Federal Reserve Bank Fargo Visit, April 26 Early Bird Deadline for Mike Allocca Seminar and More

ND Global News - April 2019
Newsletter of the U.S. Commercial Service in Fargo, North Dakota

LOCAL NEWS AND EVENTS
- Local Success Story - Valley City based FEI Inc. Spreads North 
- Minneapolis Federal Reserve Bank President Visits Fargo
- Export Documentation with Mike Allocca - May 9 in Fargo (Early Bird deadline April 26)
- Export Compliance with Mike Allocca - May 7-8 in Sioux Falls, SD (early bird deadline April 23)
- Want Help Finding your Buyers and Markets?
- Agribusiness Team Certified Trade Mission to Uzbekistan
- Former Senator Heitkamp leads push to get USMCA passed through Congress
- Senator John Hoeven continues work on Trade Promotion 
- U.S. Oil Exports up Dramatically
- Hoeven, Klobuchar introduce Legislation to Promote Rural Exports

NATIONAL / INTERNATIONAL NEWS AND EVENTS
- Visa No Longer Required to Travel to Brazil
- EU Government Officials Cracking Down on VAT Tax Evasion
- Embassy Circle - NAFSA 2019 Event
- Intellectual Property Rights Seminar
- Aerospace and Defense Meetings in Poland
- Bilateral Infrastructure Trade Mission to Mexico

WEBINARS AND VIRTUAL EVENTS
- Paris Air Show Virtual Global Chat Registration Extended
- U.S. Dept. of Commerce Resources for U.S. Educational Institutions
- eCommerce Best Practices Videos

LOCAL NEWS AND EVENTS

Valley City Based FEI Inc. Spreads North
FEI, Inc. is a Valley City, ND based fertilizer equipment service company. In a conversation at the 2016 Northern Ag Expo, FEI’s VP of Fertilizer Equipment, Matt Klabo, told U.S. Commercial Service (CS) North Dakota Office Director Heather Ranck that FEI was seeking to expand sales into Canada with an independent sales rep. Heather coordinated with the CS office in Calgary, Canada, and Klabo decided to proceed with an International Partner Search (IPS) to learn more about the market and identify potential contacts in the prairie provinces of Canada. Click here to learn what transpired from the outreach.

©John Borge, John Borge Studios

Neel Kashkari, Minneapolis Federal Reserve Bank President, Visits Fargo
The President of the Minneapolis Federal Reserve Bank Visited Fargo on Wednesday, April 3rd. During his time in town, Kashkari participated in a luncheon facilitated by CS North Dakota to learn from local manufacturers and ag industry leaders about impacts from trade policies and the changing ag economy. The luncheon was held at the Case New Holland factory in Fargo, and was followed by a plant tour. Kashkari also participated in a Town Hall moderated by Dr. Scott Beaulier, Dean of the NDSU College of Business. During the Town Hall, Kashkari answered questions from the public about the Federal Reserve System and related topics. After the visit, Kashkari wrote a Letter to the Editor printed in the Forum recognizing Fargo for its accomplishments.

Export Documentation Training with Mike Allocca - May 9 in Fargo - Early Bird Deadline April 26
How many times have you just filled out a document not knowing what all the fields meant? If you want to make sure you are completing documentation correctly, join us in a full day export documentation seminar presented by Mike Allocca, one of the top national experts on export compliance and documentation. Mike is returning to Fargo by popular demand after many previous successful seminars in Fargo. For more details and to register, click here.

Export Compliance 101 and 201 with Mike Allocca - May 7 and 8 in Sioux Falls, SD
In addition to being in Fargo on May 9th to do a Export Documentation Training, Mike Allocca will be in Sioux Falls, SD on May 7 and 8. This program, like the program in Fargo, will be for exporters at all levels of experience. Topics discussed will include licensing, documentation, and country specific requirements. Click here to learn more. 
Date: May 7th, 2019
Time: 8:00 am - 4:30 pm
Location: Avera Hall 4801 N. Career Avenue, Sioux Falls, SD. 
Cost: $295

Want Help Finding your Buyers and Markets?
Need to identify the top countries for your products? Want to find buyers in a target country? Want to speed up your export expansion? You can now access in-depth, customized market research from the U.S. Commercial Service/ND office via the Rural America's Intel Service for Exporters (RAISE). Click here to find out what is included, and how this program has helped many other local companies find their top export markets. 

Agribusiness Trade Mission to Uzbekistan
The U.S. Commercial Service and the American Chamber of Commerce in Uzbekistan are organizing a Certified Trade Mission to Uzbekistan to introduce U.S. companies to key sector opportunities, potential local business partners and buyers, industry and government officials in the Uzbekistan market. To learn more, click here.

Former North Dakota Senator, Heidi Heitkamp joins push to pass the USMCA Trade Agreement
Former Senator Heitkamp will help to lead the Trade Works for America campaign to help to get the USMCA passed through Congress. This effort, co-led by Phil Cox (former execuative director of the Republican Governors Association) and Heitkamp is of a bi-partisan nature.

Senator John Hoeven continues work on Trade Promotion
In the last month, North Dakota Senator, John Hoeven, has been pushing on multiple fronts regarding trade promotion. This includes pushes for the passage of the USMCA, advocating for the advancement trade negotiations with China Japan, and working to secure additional commodity sales and opening of other markets while negotiations continue.

U.S. Oil Exports up Dramatically in Recent Months
In the last year, oil exports have increased dramatically, jumping more than 70% from the previous year. This places exports at over 2 million barrels per day. Oil traders and executives believe that exports could reach 5 million barrels per day by the end of 2020. Total U.S. crude production is expected to surpass 13 million barrels per day by December. Click here to read more. 

Promoting Rural Exports Act of 2019
Senators Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota and John Hoeven of North Dakota and  introduced the Promoting Rural Exports Act of 2019 to help rural businesses access international markets and increase export. This legislation would establish a center for Rural Exports where the US Commercial Service would act as a support service for rural businesses to assist them in their export process into international markets. Click here to learn more. 

 

NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL NEWS AND EVENTS

Visa No Longer Required for Travel to Brazil
As of June 17th, 2019, U.S. citizens will no longer be required to acquire a visa to travel to Brazil. Brazil has been liberalizing it's visa policy in recent years as fees have dropped for travel from a number of countries. Click here to learn more. 

EU Government Officials Cracking Down on VAT Tax Evasion
According to recent news in the UK, government officials are cracking down on online marketplace VAT tax evasion. Officials will monitor and flag sellers they discover fail to pay the correct EU online taxes and duties, holding the hosting marketplace responsible for future unpaid VAT. Amazon, eBay, Asos, and Etsy have signed agreements with HM REvenue and Customs regarding this. You can learn more about ecommerce taxes and regulations by clicking here.

NAFSA 2019
The U.S. Commercial Service Global Education Team will be organizing an Embassy Circle program for the purpose of connecting Study State Consortia to Cultural Attache's and/or/ Ministry of Education officials from up to 9 countries. The countries included are Colombia, Pakistan, Spain, Vietnam, Brazil, India, Kuwait, Morocco, and Nigeria. Click here to learn more. 
Date: 5/28/19
Time: 4:00 pm - 6:30 pm
Location: National Academy of Sciences - Washington, D.C.  
Cost: 150$ per participant

Stop Fakes Roadshow Intellectual Property Rights Seminar
This seminar will inform participants how to identify and protect the various intellectual property assets they have; the mechanisms for obtaining IP protection in overseas markets and strategies for determining where they should seek protection; how to record their mark with Customs, with on-site help, in order to exclude counterfeit goods from entering the United States; how to combat counterfeits on international e-commerce sites; and about government resources available to help U.S. businesses with intellectual property issues. Click here to learn more. 
Date: 4/30/19
Time: 8:30 am - 5:00 pm 
Location: 70 West Madison St., Chicago, IL
Cost: 45$

Aerospace and Defense Meetings Hosted by CS in Poland
The U.S. Commercial Service will be hosting the annual Aerospace and Defense Meetings in Poland. These meetings take place on May 21-23 in Rzeszow, Poland. Special rates are being offered to U.S. companies. Contact Joanna Bereza (joanna.bereza@trade.gov) or Jolanta Mojsa (jolanta.mojsa@trade.gov) for further details. 

Bilateral Infrastructure Conference and Trade Mission to Mexico
Mexico's new Federal Administration is seeking U.S. Companies that are interested in working with Mexican firms on Mexico's National Infrastructure Program. The Conference that is being put on will be hosted by the U.S. Commercial Service and the Mexican Chamber for the Construction Industry on June 17th, 2019. There are numerous opportunities for U.S. Suppliers with numerous meetings set up with potential partners in Mexico in the Energy, Oil and Gas, Highways and Roads, Rail and other sectors. Click here or email Adrian Orta (Adrian.Orta@trade.gov) to learn more. 

WEBINARS AND VIRTUAL EVENTS

Paris Air Show Virtual Global Chat Registration Extended
The Paris Airshow Virtual Global Chat has extended it's registration to May 3rd. Within this chat the topics covered include, reviewing product's market potential, discussing market entry strategies, advising on market trends and local business practices, and targeting opportunities for products and services worldwide. To learn more, click here. 

U.S. Dept. of Commerce Resources for U.S. Educational Institutions
A number of Bureaus within the U.S. Department of Commerce, including the International Trade Administration's Commercial Service, Industry and Analysis, and Advocacy Center, the Bureau of Industry and Security, and the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office will be putting on a webinar to highlight resources and services that are available to U.S. Schools. Deadline to Register is April 10th. Click here to learn more. 

Best Practices for eCommerce Videos
Export.gov has recently put out a number of valuable videos for Exporters to learn about the mechanics and other important factors that  help to inform about the process of exporting internationally. Click here to learn more and view the videos. 

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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
	Joshua Erickson  Export Assistant Ph: 701-239-5033 Email: Joshua.Erickson@trade.gov
	Kole Nichols Export Assistant Ph: 701-239-5033 Email: kole.nichols@trade.gov

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