ND Global News - ND Brazil Ethanol Mission and other local Brazil connections, RDO Export Success Story and more

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

LOCAL NEWS AND TOP STORIES
- Local Export Success - RDO Heads South for the Winter
- CS North Dakota Director Heather Ranck Returns from One Month Assignment in Recife, Brazil
- North Dakota Ethanol Trade Mission to São Paulo and Recife, Brazil
- Dakota Micro Highlighted at White House
- Senators Cramer, Sinema Introduce 10-Year Reauthorization of the Export-Import Bank

NATIONAL / INTERNATIONAL NEWS AND EVENTS
- INDAGRA Food & Corn Expo 2019 on Oct. 31 - Nov. 3
- USDA Accepting Applications for Mexico Trade Mission on Nov. 6-8
- USTR Announces New Exclusion Process for Section 301 Tariffs on U.S. Imports from China
- Discover Global Markets: Powering & Building The Middle East & Africa on Sept. 30 - Oct. 2
- Global Energy Team's August Update
- The Importance of Meeting Deadlines in a Letter of Credit
- Guide to Doing Business with the Multilateral Development Banks

WEBINARS AND VIRTUAL EVENTS
- U.S.-Brazil Trade Facilitation Webinar Series 
- Accessing Oil and Gas Projects and Opportunities in Nigeria on August 27
- Energy Projects and Opportunities in Morocco on August 21
- Free Webinar Preparing for MEDICA 2019 on September 17

LOCAL NEWS AND TOP STORIES

Local Export Success - RDO Heads South for the Winter
RDO Equipment, headquartered in Fargo, North Dakota, operates dealerships and farming operations across the Midwest and into the Western U.S. As the world's largest dealer of John Deere agricultural machinery, RDO staff wanted to expand more into Latin America, a region where they hadn't had many previous sales. They decided to take an integrated approach by enlisting the U.S. Commercial Service (CS) in Fargo, North Dakota, to research both refurbished construction and agricultural machinery. With a research matrix prepared by CS North Dakota to identify the best country prospects and buyers in the market research report, RDO Equipment has made sales abroad and made connections around the world. Click here to read their full story.

CS North Dakota Office Director Returns from One Month Assignment in Recife, Brazil
CS North Dakota's Office Director Heather Ranck spent one month at the US Consulate in Recife, Brazil from mid July to mid August as Acting Principal Commercial Officer. Her main mission was working with local CS Brazil staff to advance and participate in a North Dakota Ethanol Trade Mission that was heading to Recife and Sao Paulo, Brazil (story on that below). Heather was born in Recife and speaks fluent "Nordestino" Portuguese, so she leveraged that knowledge to assist multiple North Dakota, Minnesota and US companies with market entry into Brazil during her time there. She even provided some flood protection suggestions when a severe flood hit the city, based on experiences with flooding in Fargo. While in Recife, Heather delivered market research training for all CS Brazil staff, she assisted them in doing targeted recruiting for the Brazil Trade Facilitation webinar series (more details below in the webinar section of this newsletter), all while facilitating services for several ND companies interested in expanding into Brazil. One other very interesting activity Heather led was the US Business Forum, an event held quarterly by CS Recife, where US based multinational firms with a presence in northeastern Brazil meet to discuss and share ideas. Heather worked alongside the Consul General in Recife, Mr. John Barrett, to organize and lead a meeting focused on Human Resources. The North Dakota District Export Council and the North Dakota Trade Office provided financial support for Heather's trip to Brazil.


Photo: U.S. Quarterly Business Forum hosted by the U.S. Commercial Service in Recife, Brazil.

Photo: ND Ethanol Trade Mission at the fuel tank and ethanol storage terminal in Saupe Port near Recife.

North Dakota Ethanol Trade Mission to São Paulo and Recife, Brazil
The U.S. Commercial Service, working together with the ND Trade Office, the ND Ethanol Council and ND Ag Commissioner Doug Goehring, facilitated a North Dakota Ethanol Trade Mission to Brazil, where five North Dakota ethanol plants were represented, including in-person participation by Red Trail Energy, LLC of Richardton, and Great River Energy with its 2 ethanol plants in Spiritwood and Underwood, North Dakota. The U.S. Commercial Service arranged meetings with the major Brazilian ethanol importers, including seven meetings in São Paulo and five meetings in Recife. Key decision makers at several of the ethanol importing companies expressed interest in importing more American-produced ethanol. Brazil is among the largest markets for US ethanol, as 29% of Brazil's ethanol was imported from the United States in 2018 even with a 20% import tariff in place. CS Brazil also arranged briefings with key in-country advisers who spoke about the likelihood of the extension or cancellation of a Tariff Rate Quoate (TRQ) that has been allowing some US ethanol to enter Brazil duty free. The TRQ is due to expire on August 31 so there was much discussion and uncertainty surrounding the TRQ. NDSU's Bioenergy Economics Extension Specialist David Ripplinger also participated in the mission, and CS staff in Recife set up a meeting with contacts from the biofuels department at a local University in Brazil as well. Several follow-up business opportunities emerged from the meetings, with participants reporting great satisfaction with the selection and location of meetings, structure of meetings, caliber of individuals the delegation met with, and with the full-on support from the U.S. Commercial Service teams in Fargo, São Paulo and Recife. 

Dakota Micro Highlighted at White House
Businesses from all 50 states exhibited products at the White House to showcase American manufacturing. Dakota Micro had the honor to represent North Dakota showcasing their back-up and security cameras made in Cayuga. Dakota micro started in 2001 when David Rubey, who co-owns the business with his wife Charissa, injured his neck and was unable to turn his head while driving his combine. He realized a series of mounted cameras would make awareness of his surroundings much easier and safer, but the cameras would need to withstand the abuse they would face on the farm. That's when David and Charissa launched Dakota Micro. See The Forum's article here to learn more.

Senators Cramer, Sinema Introduce 10-Year Reauthorization of the Export-Import Bank
A bill introduced by North Dakota's Senator Kevin Cramer provides a quorum fix to ensure American exporters do not lose out on export deals due to Congressional decisionmaking. It also increases the Export-Import Bank's exposure cap over 7 years to $175 billion, ensuring the Bank can help close our trade deficit and compete with countries like China. Click here to read the bill.

NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL NEWS AND EVENTS

INDAGRA Food & Corn Expo 2019 on Oct. 31 - Nov. 3
INDAGRA is organized by ROMEXPO with the Chambers of Commerce and Industry of Romania. The trade fair will feature equipment and products in agriculture, horticulture, viticulture, animal husbandry, food, wine, and packing.The expo will be from October 31 to November 3 where there will be a USA pavilion. Click here to learn more. 

USDA Accepting Applications for Mexico Trade Mission on Nov. 6-8
Mexico has long been a top market for U.S. farm and food products - and the new U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement promises to unlock even greater opportunities for American exporters. Come along and explore those opportunities when the U.S. Department of Agriculture leads a trade mission to Mexico City. The trade mission will be on November 6-8. The application deadline is August 19, 2019. Click here to learn more.

USTR Announces New Exclusion Process for Section 301 Tariffs on U.S. Imports from China
The U.S. Trade Representative has announced the process for applicants to request that specific Chinese goods be exempted from the recently imposed additional 25 percent tariff. The exclusion process applies to the Section 301 Tariffs on List 3 of Chinese products. To submit an exclusion request, applicants must first register via the USTR's portal. The deadline to submit an exclusion request is September 30, 2019. Click here to learn more from Cozen O'Connor about the exclusion.

Discover Global Markets: Powering & Building The Middle East & Africa on Sept. 30 - Oct. 2
Join top business leaders and government officials in Houston where Andrew Patterson, Regional President in Africa for Bechtel, Hamed Zaghw, Chief Executive for the Middle East for AECOM, Valerie Verret, Senior Counsel for ExxonMobil, and Joe Thompson, General Manager of Downstream Chemicals for Bechtel will share their insights, experiences, and tips for international success at this business development forum. There will also be opportunities to network and meet industry leaders from the oil and gas, renewable energy, electricity infrastructure, engineering, construction, and transportation sectors. Click here to learn more and register.

Global Energy Team's August Update
The energy arm of the Commercial Service, the Global Energy Team, has released their August newsletter. Their country of the month is Morocco due to its Energy industry and they are promoting 14 trade events across the world in the energy sector. They also list trade leads in Brazil, Curacao, and India with market research reports on Indian gas distribution and top energy markets. Click here to read more from their newsletter.

The Importance of Meeting Deadlines in a Letter of Credit
A letter of credit does guarantee payment. There are terms and conditions to be met including deadlines whether they are explicitly stated in the letter of credit or implied under the UCP 600. If shipping delays make it difficult to meet those deadlines, consider some alternatives. Click here to learn some of them.

Guide to Doing Business with the Multilateral Development Banks
Did you know that ITA has a Foreign Commercial Service Liaison Officer stationed at each of the five Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs)? ITA's Liaison Officers are responsible for protecting and promoting U.S. commercial interests at the MDBs which finance development projects worth billions of dollars throughout the world. Click here to learn more about MDBs, the Liaison Offices, and download their 2019 guide.

WEBINARS AND VIRTUAL EVENTS 

U.S.-Brazil Trade Facilitation Webinar Series
The U.S. Commercial Service is organizing a Webinar Series on customs in Brazil. This Webinar Series is a great learning opportunity for U.S. companies with limited knowledge of Brazilian Customs. You will hear from U.S. Diplomats, Brazilian Government Officials, and private sector experts to help you navigate the Brazilian customs environment. The August 27 webinar will focus on clearing customs, the September 24 webinar on the Brazilian tax system and customs disputes, the October 29 webinar on licenses, certifications, and labeling in the country. The final webinar on November 5 will cover specific three specific industries: Telecom and ICT products; licenses, healthcare, and pharma; and finally inspections for food products.

Accessing Oil and Gas Projects and Opportunities in Nigeria on August 27
Nigeria remains on of Africa's key oil markets, producing high-value, low-sulfur content crude oil. Join Dr. Adegbite "Gbite" Adeniji, Senior Technical Adviser, Ministry of Petroleum Resources and principal Partner, Advisory legal Consultant, and Jennifer Woods, Senior Commercial Officer at the U.S. Embassy in Lagos, which will highlight projects and opportunities for U.S. oil and gas companies in Nigeria. Click here to register.

Energy Projects and Opportunities in Morocco on August 21
Morocco currently imports approximately 90% of its energy needs. As part of its strategic plan, Morocco will be improving its security by reducing its dependence on energy imports by increasing its use of renewable sources. This webinar will feature the Morocco Ministry of Energy, Mines and Sustainable Development, and will highlight renewable energy and oil and gas projects and opportunities for U.S. companies in the market. Click here to register.

Free Webinar Preparing for MEDICA 2019 on September 17
MEDICA 2019 is the largest trade show in the world. With over 6,000 exhibitors and 123,000 visitors from 70 countries, there are opportunities for U.S. companies in nearly every sub-sector. During this free webinar you will learn about complimentary programs being provided by the U.S. Commercial Service that will help you connect with international opportunities and gain market intelligence. Click here to register.

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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
	Colby Warzecha Export Assistant Ph: 701-239-5033 Email: Colby.Warzecha@trade.gov
	Rylan Drake  Export Assistant Ph: 701-239-5033 Email: Rylan.Drake@trade.gov

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