(Note: This text-only version does not contain illustrations or photographs) Published December 2001 by the U.S. Department of Commerce, International Trade Administration. [FRONT COVER] Export Services for Smaller Companies: Around the World in Seven Ways U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE International Trade Administration [CENTER SPREAD] The Department of Commerce=s International Trade Administration (ITA) helps small businesses succeed in the global economy. Here are seven ways we can help your company. 1. Get Export Counseling We offer hands-on export counseling to help you through every stage of the export process through our Trade Information Center (TIC) and our nationwide network of 105 U.S. Export Assistance Centers (USEACs). The TIC, with its toll-free number (1-800-USA-TRADE), is the first stop for small businesses and the gateway to all U.S. government export programs. Get basic how-to-export counseling, program referrals, documentation help, regulatory requirements, market research, and country information. The USEACs, located in your community, offer one-on-one export counseling to identify best markets and potential buyers or business partners, arrange overseas meetings, and obtain customized market analysis. USEACs often combine the resources of the U.S. Department of Commerce, the Small Business Administration, the Export-Import Bank of the United States, the Foreign Agricultural Service, and state and local export assistance providers. 2. Obtain Country- and Industry-Specific Help We provide country-specific assistance on commercial regulations and practices, opportunities and best prospects in individual markets, and tariffs and customs procedures through: $ the Trade Information Center (TIC), $ the Business Information Service for the Newly Independent States (BISNIS), $ the Central and Eastern Europe Business Information Center (CEEBIC), and $ 160 Commercial Service offices abroad. Our Trade Development industry officers provide information and analyses on foreign market conditions and opportunities, industry trends, and competitiveness by industry sector. This expertise is found nowhere else inside or outside of the U.S. government. 3. Identify Your Buyers and Markets Working hand-in-hand with the private sector, we offer over 80 trade missions and more than 500 other promotions annually, including trade fairs, catalog events, and international buyer shows that assist several thousand (mostly small) businesses enter new markets. Our Gold Key Matching Service pairs U.S. firms with pre-qualified, pre-screened international companies interested in becoming business partners. In addition, our International Partner Search produces reports on up to five qualified overseas partners, and our Flexible Market Research provides individualized market research pertaining to your products or services. We make it easier for your small business to use these and other services by offering many of them Avirtually.@ (Read more about this in the AE-Services@ box on the reverse.) 4. Compete for Foreign Procurements Our Advocacy Center marshals the resources of 19 U.S. government agencies in the Trade Promotion Coordinating Committee and U.S. officials stationed at our embassies and consulates abroad. The Center helps to ensure that when your company participates in international tenders, procurements, or investment competitions that you and all U.S. business interests are treated fairly, and that all proposals are evaluated on their technical and commercial merits. 5. Make Sure You Have Access to Markets Our market access officers address issues of unfair trade practices and barriers encountered by U.S. firms in particular markets. The Trade Compliance Center (TCC) helps U.S. exporters facing trade barriers and ensures that foreign countries comply with their trade commitments. U.S. exporters can contact the TCC's On-line Trade Complaint Hotline to report a suspected violation of a trade agreement or to report market access problems. 6. Make Your Voice Heard Our Small Business Program works closely with industry in the formulation of international trade policy and represents the trade policy views of small business in multilateral fora, such as the World Trade Organization, the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development, and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation. You can have a direct voice by participating in one of our Trade Policy Advisory Committees. 7. Look for Other Sources of Technical Assistance Our 301 Alert Service e-mails early warnings to small businesses that register with us to help them react to potential increases in U.S. import duties in response to unfair trade practices. The 301 Alert service is located at www.trade.gov/301alert. When small businesses fear that unfairly traded imports are hurting their domestic industries, we offer a Pre-Petition Counseling Program to assist them with the process of filing antidumping and countervailing duty petitions, evaluating whether there is sufficient evidence to file a petition, and reviewing draft petitions. For information, go to www.trade.gov/ia. Our Export Trade Certificate of Review Program allows small businesses to cooperate in many areas of exporting, such as sharing costs of market research, participation fees for trade shows, etc. Currently over 5,000 U.S. firms operate under this antitrust protection program. For more information, go to www.trade.gov/oetca. [BACK PANEL 1] E-Services: Point-and-Click Exporting Thanks to the growth of the Internet and e-commerce, the world is getting smaller every day. Small businesses can benefit greatly from opportunities that these new technologies create. The International Trade Administration now delivers many services over the Internet, by e-mail, and through "virtual" programs that allow small exporters to take advantage of these programs from the convenience of their own offices. Visit Export.gov, the customer-focused Web site designed to help you assess your company's needs and to quickly find every on-line federal source of export-related information. Try our other electronic programs and services: • BuyUSA.com matches U.S. companies with potential buyers and business partners overseas in an electronic marketplace. • Video Market Briefings give you a chance to ask questions and obtain specialized knowledge from overseas commercial officers located in their market of interest. • Video Gold Keys enable you to screen potential business partners via video conferencing. • The on-line Export Finance Matchmaker helps you find banks and service providers that finance export sales to overseas buyers. For more information, call 1-800-USA-TRAD(E) or visit www.export.gov. [BACK PANEL 2] Useful Contacts and Resources Trade Information Center/BISNIS/CEEBIC Tel. 1-800-USA-TRAD(E) (1-800-872-8723) Fax: (202) 482-4473 E-mail: tic@ita.doc.gov Internet: www.export.gov/tic U.S. and Foreign and Commercial Service, Office of Domestic Operations Tel. (202) 482-4767 Internet: www.usatrade.gov Office of Export Assistance and Business Outreach Tel. (202) 482-4501 Small Business Program Tel. (202) 482-4792 Fax: (202) 482-4452 E-mail: small_business@ita.doc.gov Advocacy Center Tel. (202) 482-3896 Fax: (202) 482-3508 Internet: www.trade.gov/advocacy Trade Compliance Center Tel: (202) 482-1191 Fax: (202) 482-6097 E-mail: tcc@ita.doc.gov Internet: www.export.gov/tcc Export Finance Matchmaker Tel. (202) 482-5702 Internet: www.trade.gov/efm Publications/Internet Resources Export America is the official magazine of the International trade Administration. Each issue provides practical export advice and serves as a valuable resource for smaller companies. You may subscribe on-line at http://exportamerica.doc.gov or call toll-free (866) 512-1800. Export.gov is an Internet site that helps you find every on-line federal source of export-related information from one site. The Export Programs Guide is a publication that offers a comprehensive look at all U.S. government export assistance programs. A copy may be obtained free of charge by calling 1-800-USA-TRAD(E). It can also be accessed electronically at http://tradeinfo.doc.gov. A Basic Guide to Exporting is a step-by-step guide to the exporting process, from identifying markets to finding buyers, shipping, and financing. It describes export promotion services offered by the U.S. Department of Commerce and other federal agencies. A Basic Guide to Exporting is available for purchase from the Superintendent of Documents, tel. (202) 512-1800.