COMMERCE DEPARTMENT AWARD TO HELP U.S. SMART CARD
FIRMS DEVELOP LATIN AMERICAN MARKETS
Award Initiates Partnership with Trade Association

The U.S. Department of Commerce's International Trade Administration (ITA) awarded $288,000 to Smart Card Alliance (SCA). Stephan Crawford, director of ITA's San Francisco Export Assistance Center, announced the award at SCA's fall conference at the Hyatt Fisherman's Wharf Hotel. Based in New Jersey, SCA has about 100 corporate, government, university, and associate members that represent manufacturers, software developers, banking organizations, system integrators, government entities, security companies and others.

SCA plans to increase awareness in Latin American markets about the benefits of smart card technology. The ultimate aim is to connect potential business partners and facilitators. The project includes adding Latin American focus days to an annual conference in Miami, establishing an SCA Latin America chapter, linking U.S. smart card firms with government and Latin American business representatives, launching a new SCA Latin America conference, and establishing an exposition in Mexico.

"The Commerce Department is pleased to partner with SCA on this project," said Al Frink, Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Manufacturing and Services. "This partnership reflects the Bush Administration's commitment to opening new markets, growing better American jobs and creating an environment for businesses to innovate, compete and prosper."

The funds awarded to SCA are made available through the Commerce Department's Market Development Cooperator Program (MDCP), a public-private partnership developed to help small and medium-sized U.S. firms expand exports that support jobs. The MDCP is a competitive program of the Commerce Department's ITA. The program builds partnerships by providing financial and technical assistance to non-profit organizations involved in improving competitiveness and developing foreign markets. SCA will match every federal dollar with two dollars of its own.

For more information about the Market Development Cooperator Program, please visit www.export.gov/mdcp. More information about SCA is available online at www.smartcardalliance.org.