The Obama Administration recently announced the National Export Initiative (NEI), which is the Administration’s plan to reform the U.S. export control system. The plan includes four key proposed changes. First, the Administration plans to create a single export control list, rather than the two-track (State Department’s USML and the CCL) approach that is currently employed. Second, the Administration hopes to establish a single licensing agency, which would have.....

Traditional Societies. Until the late 19th century, most people virtually everywhere were peasants who produced food and also knew how to fashion many tools and other necessities. What they could not make for themselves, they bought in neighboring towns in exchange for their (usually small) agricultural surplus and a few handicrafts. Long¬distance trading was rare, because output of all products was low and because transportation was expensive, slow, and dangerous. Whatever international trade did occur was usually monopolized by government-licensed private orga¬nizations like the British East India Company. Only goods with a high value in relation to their weight, like precious stones, metals, spices, special fabrics (particularly wool and silk cloth), furs, and wine, could be taken to faraway places and sold profitably. Grain, too, was sometimes traded abroad but, it would seem, in small quantities.

ntroduction to global sourcing,production, and export strategies

As the Sunset Flowers case demonstrates, there is more to export profitability than a good idea. Once an entrepreneur has identified a product, he needs to determine if there is a market somewhere, a process that involves a significant amount of market research, which may or may not be supported by the home country government. Then the entrepreneur needs to develop a production strategy, prepare the goods for market, determine the best strategy for getting the goods transported to market, sell the product, and receive payment.

Shipping documents

U.S. Trade Partners 2009

Rank	Country
1	Canada
2	China
3	Mexico
4	Japan
5	Germany
6	United Kingdom
7	South Korea
8	France
9	Netherland
10	Brazil

Normally, I blog about trade issues but I must say I was shocked to read in the news that France's President Sarkozy is attempting to obtain a partial ban on any veil that cover the face-including the burqa that is worn by some Muslim women in France.  According to Sarkozy ..

On October 5, 2009, Ambassador Kirk announced that the Office of the United States Trade Representative was launching an initiative aimed at increasing exports by small- and medium-sized firms in the United States. In addition to creating a USTR-wide working group focused on SME issues, Kirk announced that USTR was requesting an investigation by the USITC to better understand how many of America's small- and medium-sized enterprises export now, their role in generating employment and economic activity in the U.S., and how increased trading opportunities might benefit these businesses and their workers. This first USITC report released today covers SME exporting activity. Key findings include:

 

· SMEs play a crucial role in job creation. Over the last two decades, SMEs have accounted for almost 65 percent of new jobs created in the U.S. Overall they account for half of non-farm U.S. employment.

· Almost 80 percent of American SME employment is within the services sector, compared with 85 percent...

In the rush to Asia, the potential of the European market for U.S. companies is overlooked.   With the weakened dollar, American products and services have an advantage over European competitors.  Particularly, high tech industries, cell phones,  and service sector exports.