Network with the World’s Leaders in Your Industry

Hawaii businesses are encouraged to meet with international buyers, representatives and distributors from around the world at the biggest and best trade shows in America. The Department of Commerce has selected 30 of the most outstanding trade shows from various industries and will be encouraging international attendance as part of their 2013 International Buyer Program.

Find the perfect international business partner for you! At the shows you will enjoy excellent networking opportunities and make your marketing dollars stretch further. To increase your visibility, the Department will list your company’s products and services in an export interest directory that will be distributed to all international participants.

 Last year the IBP recruited nearly 13,500 prospective buyers from international markets to come to the IBP’s selected trade events.  Don’t miss this year’s shows!

You can find your industry’s trade show in the list of participants here.

The International Buyer Program is a joint government-industry effort designed to increase U.S. export sales by promoting international attendance at major U.S. industry exhibitions as part of the Obama administration’s National Export Initiative.

 Local Businesses Targeted by Government Service Fee Increase

Unless individuals and businesses voice their concern, local businesses may soon find it harder to access growth and development services provided by the U.S. Department of Commerce. The Department has been helping small and medium sized businesses sell their products internationally for years. However, on June 13, 2012, the U.S. government proposed rate  increases that could cause small businesses to reconsider penetrating new markets.

One of the Department’s services, the highly rated Gold Key, connects companies to qualified and pre-screened contacts in foreign countries. This service has helped small companies by providing them with access to some of the 95 percent of consumers who live outside of the U.S. Currently listed at $700, this service faces an 153 percent increase as the rate proposed in the Federal Register brings the cost up to $1,771.

When small companies use these services they increase their revenue which, in turn, creates jobs, boosts economic growth and brings in investment. In 2011, the branch based out of Honolulu facilitated exports to 20 countries totalling millions of dollars in export sales. With its extensive network of contacts in more than 80 countries, the U.S. Department of Commerce provides services that are unmatched in the private sector.

The Gold Key Service is not the only service offered by the U.S. Department of Commerce to face price increases: costs for counseling on how to enter international markets, assistance setting up appointments with buyers and government officials abroad, and agent-distributor locator services are also expected to rise. The benefits of these services greatly exceed the actual costs charged as the Department recoups its costs by the improving health of the entire U.S. economy.

We only have until August 14^th, 2012 to band together to say NO to this proposed fee. You can do your part by drafting a short comment opposing the fee increase and posting it here, or you can use the one we’ve already written, found here.

Links:

• Federal Register Notice of Increasing Fees: http://www.regulations.gov/#!documentDetail;D=ITA-2012-0001-0001
• Voice your opinion to the notice at: http://www.regulations.gov/#!submitComment;D=ITA-2012-0001-0001
• Sample letter opposing the fee increase: http://tinyurl.com/feeincreaseltr