Mexico Manufacturing Sector

Inputs of components, supplies, and machinery, worth $88 billion, for maquiladora plants dedicated to producing goods for export, make up over half of all products imported into Mexico. This alone dwarfs total imports by any other Latin American country, the next largest import volume being Brazil's with $64 billion of imports annually. Therefore, if you are not currently selling to the export manufacturing industry, you should consider it. more...

SBA and Ex-Im Bank Loan Discount Program

The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) and the Export-Import Bank of the United States (Ex-Im Bank) have joined together to encourage small business exports. Small businesses that receive an SBA Export Working Capital Program loan are now eligible for a 25% discount on their Ex-Im Bank credit insurance premiums. more...

Strategy Targeting Organized Piracy (STOP)

On Wednesday, January 24, 2007, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the Coalition Against Counterfeiting and Piracy (CACP) released the No Trade in Fakes Supply Chain Tool Kit. This important document showcases many proven strategies that companies both small and large use to protect their supply chains from counterfeiters and modern-day pirates. On October 4, 2006, Commerce Secretary Evans, joined by Ambassador Robert Zoellick, Attorney General John Ashcroft, and Homeland Security Under Secretary Asa Hutchinson, announced a comprehensive Administration initiative to protect American innovation by halting trade in counterfeit and pirated goods. more...

Ensuring Protection in the European Union: Design and Trademark Registration

Exporters of products and services are sometimes unaware that U.S. trademark and design protection does not extend beyond the boundaries of the United States. Steve Alley, minister counselor for commercial affairs at the U.S. Mission to the European Union, met with representatives from the Office of Harmonization in the Internal Market (OHIM), the EU agency that handles the registration process for these EU marks and designs, to learn more about the opportunities they provide for U.S. exporters. more...

Automated Export System (AES)

The Foreign Trade Division of the U.S. Census Bureau recently announced that the mandatory filing of all export documentation through the Automated Export System (commonly referred to as AES) will begin on January 1, 2006. more...