The Trade Bridge Blog

Cultural Exchange Alive & Threatened

The National Performing Arts Convention (NPAC) just closed in Denver and I returned home awed by the number of live performers and performance groups that have plans for overseas tours and performances. This, in spite of all the concern I heard about the difficulties getting visa and the horror stories from previous trips. NPAC brought together choruses, orchestras, opera, theater and dance companies for the second time in 5 years. They discussed all aspects of arts in America.

I was there promoting carnets for Corporation for International Business and had the chance to ask just about everyone I spoke to whether they toured or did business overseas. I estimate that 3 out of 4 people said "yes we plan to tour to -fill in the blank- in 2009 or 10 or 11." The other quarter said "no" but asked if we could help them with visas for importing overseas performers they want to bring to the US.

The common message in all the conversation was that national and international security initiatives were putting up additional barriers to international cultural exchange. Visas to come the the US have made accurately scheduling performances almost impossible because of the uncertainty of getting the visa in time to meet the marketing and promotion deadlines. Visas have become more expensive, harder to get and a highly sought after commodity.

International tours, for US troupes travelling with tools-of-the trade i.e. instruments, props, sets, costumes or equipment, are threatened by the pending 10+2 US security initiative. This will require harmonized tariff numbers on carnets for these tools-of-the trade and thus create unnecessary barriers to cultural exhange unless carnets are allowed the requested waiver. Said waiver was requested by the League of American Orchestras and the United States Council for International Business and is still in play.

Of course the weakened dollar also can make international touring out of reach for cash-strapped non-profit perfomance groups. But there's not much we can do about the US economic situation on a macro level.

So cultural exchange is alive and threatened. Ideas?

Wiki + Wiki = 2Wiki

The Web 2.0 revolution is gaining momentum amongst international trade media mavens. Note Laurel Delaney's new GlobeTrade wiki which was announced to her e-mail subscribers this week and the pending launch of FITA's International Trade wiki (the site, www.globaltrade.net, isn't available yet). These two new tools appear to more complimentary than competitive with Laurel's wiki focusing on professional networking and the FITA wiki focusing on industry-created trade information. And by the way, if you want to be counted among the border busters committed to global trade I recommend subscribing to Laurel's free newsletter, Borderbuster, and FITA's Really Useful Sites for Trade Professionals Newsletter. Borderbusters does a great job of promoting the business of exporting to small and medium companies and Really Useful Sites, edited by John McDonnell, is a must-have for wired trade professionals. Enjoy!

Note: Web 2.0 image above is from Andy Budd's web site.

Trade Resources Proliferating

Proliferation can mean "an idea whose time has come." I came across two interesting trade resources today and was reminded of a third. Check out GlobalGoodsTV for online video featuring international trade news and analysis AND product videos. This is brand new and could be a great way to get online video exposure for importers and exporters. Then my friend, Huyen Bui of DI-Central, sent me a link to a super intermediary, B2X, which specializes in acting as importer of record for importers that want to bring in products from China, virtually risk free. I'm anxious to find out how their platform actually performs as they progress. And that lead me to the international trade expert, journalist and publisher, Michael White, and his podcast, the International Business Report. Michael is a trailblazer and innovator in using media to expand the cause of international trade, to educate and to inform. I can almost imagine no borders as I surf betwixt and between these sites.

Where Will I Get The Olives?

Edward Donnelly has some valuable comments about the vulnerabilities of having a single supplier for a key product. What if that supplier goes belly up like the olive supplier in Donnelly's story?

Customs Brokers as Consultants

Here's a Q & A on LinkedIn that piqued my interest. Will customs brokers start charging by the hour anytime soon?

2.0 Kudos to Global California

Wikis, podcasts, desktop sharing....what's a person to do? Global California had many of the answers at their annual conference in Sacramento recently. This conference was an abundance of useful and practical information for importers and exporters, not just in California, but all over the US. I went as an exhibitor for Trade Bridge and spent most my time listening to an A-list line up of experts and service providers assembled by Tony Livoti and his team at the Monterey Bay International Trade Association. Highlights of the topics covered include using Web 2.0 tools to collaborate on product development with overseas partners, practical suggestions for marketing on the web, translation/interpretation/localization, sourcing and researching online, new developments in online security that can be applied to international collaboration, and an eCommerce source for pre-shipment funding. Just listening to these folks talk about the internet resources available to importers and exporters had me want to start exporting something!

C-TPAT Kicking and Screaming?

I've met a new SME ally through this blog, Philip Spayd of Global Trade Systems and formerly of Customs. Phil makes a very good point about SMEs and their importance in the supply chain and its security:

"Our clients at GTS—all predominately SMEs...have for the most part approached C-TPAT as an obligation to be fulfilled.  Often they are pressured to join by customers or other business partners who are C-TPAT certified. They did not initially approach C-TPAT from a strategic interest in improving supply chain management or in recognizing risk within the supply chain. They wanted to take the basic actions to achieve certification.  We help our clients fulfill these needs, but also help them to see the benefits they can achieve in recognizing other risks in their supply chain, and laying the foundation for being able to respond to disruptions.

A point that I believe is important for SMEs to understand is that C-TPAT and SAFE, together with the initiates such as pending product safety and legislation, the TSA air cargo screening initiative (Certified Cargo Screening Program), and efforts to demonstrate environmental responsibility within the supply chain, will create entire classes of firms that are known entities that meet basic international security (and safety and environmental) standards, and that many business relationships will be built on this status.  The risks of doing business with companies outside the network of authorized economic operators (or known parties, or whatever we decide to call them) will be too high.

So, my advice to SMEs would be to find a practical way to approach C-TPAT, and to use it not only to achieve C-TAPT certification, but as a platform to recognize other risks within their supply chains, and to move into the realm of being a known, responsible, stable and secure member of the supply chains of which they are a part."  Well said, Phil.

We Are Making a Difference

I'm jazzed to report that Trade Bridge is making an impact. We are providing the WCO with some very welcome and much needed feedback from our members, U.S. SMEs. I was in Brussels in December speaking to a SAFE conference about SME views on C-TPAT. TBI Chairman Bruce Wilson goes to Brussels next week to attend the 2nd SAFE Working Group meeting. As an Observer, TBI can provide input and the SME perspective at an international level.

The Canadian SME community, through their trade associations, are also interested in providing the Canadian perspective for Trade Bridge to represent to the WCO. This would be a valuable addition to the Trade Bridge cause which I will be pursuing in the coming months.

Keep your fingers crossed as CBP reviews my application to COAC. If I am appointed, Trade Bridge and its 7000 SME importer-exporter members, will have a direct line of communication to Congress. Is there any question that this is a movement whose time has come?

10 + 2 Becoming a Reality - Get Prepared

10 + 2 is bearing down on us. The rule is now a Notice of Proposed Rule Making (NPRM) and in less than 60 days it is likely to be inevitable. For information on how to prepare your company for this change see Customs web site, the American Association of Exporters and Importers Alert, Trade Innovations' write-up, and any of the Trade Bridge International FAQs on 10+2: October 18th, 2007 webinar, June 7th, 2008 webinar. If you are considering direct-filing of your customs entries with TRG Direct you may automatically be prepared to comply with this new security rule. Contact the direct-filing experts for details.

Trade Bridge at the World Customs Organization

Next week Trade Bridge makes its debut at the WCO in Brussels. I'll be presenting an update on C-TPAT from the perspective of SMEs. Thanks to all of you who completed the survey. Your views will be made known at the WCO SAFE Framework of Standards conference on December 11th. Check www.TradeBridgeInternational.com for the results of the C-TPAT Survey.

SME's & Emerging Markets Overseas

If you are interested in exporting to emerging markets, check out the joint initiative by the Small Business Association (SBA) and the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC): OPIC Small Business Center. Our friend, the respected U.S. Rep. Donald Manzullo (R-Illinois 16th) helped put this one together. Thanks again, Don, for your relentless support of U.S. small business.

AAEI, IPSC, WCO and other Acronyms to Chew On

What's going on at Trade Bridge...we are in conversation with the American Association of Exporters and Importers to see if there is a way we can work together to the benefit of our collective members. You'll find our sponsor, TRG Direct, at the next AAEI Western Conference in Newport Beach, CA on January 20-22, 2008.

Meanwhile back in Brussels yours truly will be representing US SME importers and exporters at the upcoming WCO Forum 2007 on December 11-12, 2007. I'll be participating on a panel titled C-TPAT five years on: A review from the trade. Mike Laden of Trade Innovations, Trusted Trade Alliance and TBI Brokers will be chairing that panel so it promises to be informative. Trade Bridge and its sponsors are conducting a survey to collect information from US SMEs about C-TPAT to report back to the WCO conference. Please help us by completing the brief, 10 question survey whether you have participated in C-TPAT or not. SURVEY

And for those with big investments in imported consumer products the dozens of pending intiatives and legistlative proposals loom large. IPSC, the Importer Product Safety Coalition, is a new coalition being organized by Sandler, Travis and Rosenberg to get up front and center in Washington on behalf of importers. Unfortunately the $5000 a month it costs to participate isn't an easy pill to swallow for us SMEs. TBI will do its best to keep those affected informed of significant issues as they arise. In the meantime we strongly suggest you refer to information on the AAEI website, from the Journal of Commerce and ask your broker to keep you informed.

Top IT Pain Points for Global SMEs

I stumbled on a blog called "The Entreprenuerial Mind" by Jeff Cornwall who is the Director of the Belmont University Center for Entrepreneurship in Nashville. He cites a new study from the International Office of the International Council for Small Business (ICSB):  Global Technology Study conducted in collaboration with DELL Inc. I resonated with the Top IT Pain points not only because I think they apply to all SMEs but also because these are the very issues that TBI sponsors wrestled with when developing the TRG Direct product for US importers: managing costs of technology, product complexity making them too dependent on an outside company for support, and issues with trial-ware installed on new computers.

Fortunately, TRG Direct addresses these IT Pain Points very well.

The cost of accessing the technology is a small, one-time, upfront fee ($1000) and a per entry fee ($20-$30/entry) with no long term commitments or volume contracts to agree to. All the cost of upgrades are borne by the provider, TRG Direct. The issue of support is non-existent because the product is web-based and therefore there is no need for supporting software that is housed on the customer's server. Finally, as the product is web-based, there is no trial-ware to have issues (no need for new computers either).

As we say in my house, "No pain, no pain."

SBA Trade Programs Act Approved by Committee - Sometimes I Feel So Republican

Sometimes I feel so Republican. (You know, "keep taxes low to stimulate the economy" vs. "increase taxes to pay for programs to stimulate the economy.")

Call me "old-fashioned" but I would like to know that taxpayers' hard earned dollars are actually funding something worthwhile. And that's why I can't quite decide whether I like this amendment to the Small Business Act or not.

The House Small Business Committee just approved an amendment to the Small Business Act that appears to be a big coup for future and beginner SME exporters: "SBA Trade Programs Act of 2007 - To amend the Small Business Act to improve trade programs, and for other purposes." It covers the gamut of govenmental support from finance to trade protection. The intent of expanding U.S. exports via the SME exporter is laudable. I'm just not convinced this is the way to do it.

The amendment will cost taxpayers money to implement and maintain. Will the cost be worth the return to our economy? What is the expected return to our economy? None of this information appears in the amendment so it's impossible to make an informed decision about whether or not to support the amendment.

As an advocate for SME exporters it seems like a slam dunk for Trade Bridge to come out in favor of this amendment. It does, after all, appear to provide significant help to SMEs that want to expand into global markets. But is it prudent to support the amendment on what may simply be, a noble goal? If monies are appropriated (which the amendment calls for) and the amendment doesn't do anything to either improve the export capabilities of SMEs or the U.S. economy it will be wasted time, effort and money.

I'm wary of the government's ability to design and implement these changes effectively and efficiently when the accountability seems either nonexistent or an afterthought. (Again, call me "old-fashioned.")

For now though, I'm keeping an open mind while I conduct more research. Check back here regularly as I will continue to update and post information as I get it.

Is US-Canadian Cross Border Security Increasing Production Costs?

  If TBI members have noticed an subtle, upward push on US-CA-US transportation costs perhaps shifts in transportation patterns at the US-Canadian border can explain it. Trans-Talk is a Canadian-based blog that suggests maybe Just-in-Case inventory management is replacing Just-in-Time inventory management. If companies are pre-shipping, avoiding cross-border routes, avoiding some border crossings...if truckers have changed their patterns and now wait idling...if shippers are changing transportation modes...maybe the sum total of all this adjustment to the post 9/11 border security is higher costs that take a bite out of SME profits. TBI members might want to review Trans-Talk's blog post to see if they may have become an unwitting victim of these changes that are costing them money.

You'll find the download of Danielle Goldfarb's full report "Is Just-in-Case Replacing Just-in-Time?" on the Conference Board of Canada's website.

Keeping in Touch with What the Big Guys are Doing

If you are am SME Importer or Exporter and it seems that the government or big business is conspiring to make life difficult for you, you might try tracking the news and events of the American Association of Exporters and Importers. Even without a membership you can read the various positions that the association takes on all the current issues facing US importers and exporters. And since we know that the association is controlled by multi-national corporations and intermediaries what you read on the site will logically be the views and opinions of those organizations.

Don't get me wrong. I think the AAEI does a great job of representing the interests of those who it represents. I'm even a member and get The Alert. Those interests just don't necessarily correspond to the interests of SME importers and exporters.

A Kindred Soul Right in the Neighborhood

Browsing international trade blogs I came across The Global Small Business Blog which might have some useful tips, links and articles for exporter SMEs especially those who are getting started or want to expand globally. Check it out. A caveat in the spirit of transparency, the author, Laurel Delaney (who is widely published), is the founder of the consulting firm GlobeTrade so dive in with eyes wide open. That said, she's got lots of well-presented information here.

Information Tsunami But What??????

How to filter for the information you want without suffocating in the deluge of e-newsletters, CD-ROMs, subscription renewals, e-alerts, webinars, DVDs, class schedules, course reminders, e-vites, magazines, CE credits, podcasts, webcasts and broadcasts? I reviewed the ten publications on Quick Vote and was reassured that there is absolutely no lack of press coverage of international trade issues especially policy issues. So then what kind of information can make a difference for SME importers and exporters in the day-to-day operation of their businesses and at the bottom line? Answer: Drill down to the micro level. It's not sexy. It has no widespread appeal. Who the heck cares about what data elements CBP wants and when???? Well apparently SME importers do. So that's the kind of minutiae we will serve up. Ready to consume, simply garnished and easy to digest. Yum.

The Web Rocks 10+2!

I'm back from Medinah Country Club in Medinah, Illinois where we had 40 SME importers attend a presentation by Richard DiNucci of CBP on 10+2 (Security Filing). At the same time, 180 SME importers participated in the seminar which was broadcast over the WWW via webinar. Aside from a few audio glitches, which I hope improved over the course of the event (and will be corrected for the next seminar-webinar), the whole thing came off seamlessly. It was fantastic to reach so many interested SMEs using this web tool and to keep to the Trade Bridge Mission of serving SMEs in a way that works for their style of doing business and their cost structures. Note: the seminar-webinar was free! To check out the content of the event see the Trade Bridge web site page where you'll find those downloads.

Willie (& John) Go to Washington

Curt "Willie" Wilson and John "Mountain Man" Michel departed from the Heartland to visit our hallowed nation's capital recently. The mission was clear for these two Directors of Trade Bridge International: talk to legistlators and CBP about three issues affecting small and medium importers and exporters. And talk they did. Mostly to Congressman Don Manzullo. Willie spent forty-five minutes with the Chairman of the Small Business Committee, Manzullo and found a very receptive audience. It's clear that US small business has an intelligent, concerned and pro-active representative on the Hill. Now it's up to us, TBI, to let him know how he can help SME importers and exporters. He's heard how he can help SMEs protect themselves from the unintended negative economic consequences of the WCO Authorized Economic Operator initiative. He's heard how he can support TRG Direct to reduce the time it takes for CBP to assign filer codes for self-filers. And he's heard how he can promote US exports by urging the US Trade Representative to press the Chinese to accede to the Commerical Samples and Professional Equipment ATA Carnet Conventions. And there will be more. Lots more. I'll keep you posted on how it goes...on the Hill...and back at home...in the heartland...and at the ports...for SMEs.

"Dumbing Down" for SMEs

Mike Megalli in BtoB magazine this month wrote that "most technology companies translate their product offerings to appeal to small business by dumbing them down." Having been in the world of small business my entire life and being in the business of developing products and services for SME I wanted to stand up and shout, "Yes! - I mean, No! - Don't do that!"

It's a vicious cycle. Small and medium business entreprenuers are typically independent and enjoy the quality of life that owning an SME provides. They don't have the time or interest to fight battles in the nation's capital or even at their state capital that might make their businesses better. Those battles are left to be fought by big businesses and intermediaries that, unfortunately, don't have a clue about the needs of SMEs. So the problems of SMEs don't really get solved. Then big business develops products and services for their biggest customers and, as an after thought, scales down those offerings as if "simplification" was all that was needed to appeal to the SME market. No consideration is given to cultural or attitudinal differences.

I want us, Trade Bridge International, to be an exception for SME importers and exporters. Our sponsors have been doing it with carnets and customs bonds for years. Now they are committed to bringing more products and services to market, through TBI, that are developed by and for SMEs.

TRG Direct, our new importer self-filing service, is exciting for that reason. It takes a service that has been available to all importers at a relatively high cost and significantly reduces economic and adminstrative barriers to entry so that SME importers can actually benefit from the increased control and lower costs self-filing offers. And it is delivered to the marketplace and supported in a way that addresses the needs and concerns of SME importers. It's not just ABI software made simple. It's ABI software made accessible economically to SMEs while lowering the risk of taking the filing of customs entries in-house.

The first ten customers are signed up and processing what they need from CBP to begin. Check back here to find out how they are progressing and what else TBI has up its sleeve. There's more on the way.