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Hello International Traders! Belgium is a small country with a big trade presence, and if you
want to make a splash there I've got a site that will help you.
Also, I found a site that lets you store copies of your valuable
documents before you travel -- so you're protected if you lose
anything on your trip. Taking a flight soon? Check out your
airline's quality rating at the site I review in this issue.
Finally, I have a site from the UK Foreign & Commonwealth Office
with cutting edge research about countries around the world. And don't forget -- if you'd like more information about
international trade, go to FITA's Really Useful Links (
http://fita.org/webindex/index.html ), which has a link library
of more than 8,000 sites related to international trade.
| BELGIUM -- OUR FEATURED COUNTRY
There are 148 countries in the world larger than Belgium, but
only 13 of them spent more money on imports in 2005. Belgium may
be a small country, but it's a big player in the international
trade game. It's a modern, technologically advanced country with
an excellent transport network and a high standard of living.
If you want to learn more about trade with Belgium, a good site
to visit is the U.S. Government's Export Portal (
http://www.export.gov ). Click on "Find Country Information" in
the right column, where you'll find two options for information
about Belgium. Click on "Trade Information Center Country
Database", then click on Western Europe, then Belgium, and you'll
find lots of documents about customs regulations, taxation,
Belgian contacts, laws & procedures, general marketing
information, and other items. If you click on "BuyUSA.gov Country
Websites" you'll find information about doing business in
Belgium, market research, trade events, and lots more.
Another good resource is the Belgium Mini Portal (
http://fita.org/countries/belgium.html), one of the new features
at the FITA site. The Mini Portal is a good place to start your
research. There is information about the language, currency,
climate, etc., plus more specific information about the economy,
Belgian markets, taxes, labor market indicators, tips on doing
business, and a search engine to help you find market research on
the Internet. There's also a news feed with the latest headlines
from Belgium.
Click on "Useful Links" and you'll find a variety of sources for
market research, trade leads, business directories, logistics,
government contacts, travel, financing, and lots more.
The Belgium Mini Portal is one of many research gateways at
the newly redesigned FITA site. To find Mini Portals for other
regions or countries, just click on "Country Profiles" from
within a Mini Portal, or at the FITA home page (
http://www.fita.org).
FITA's Global Trade Book Store has some excellent books about doing
business in the Belgium. Check out Culture Shock! Belgium: A Guide to Customs & Etiquette and Culture Smart! Belgium: A Quick Guide to Customs & Etiquette. And the
Belgian-American Chamber of Commerce in the US
and the
Belgian American Society of New England
are FITA member associations. Check out their websites
for more resources about doing business with Belgium.
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UK FOREIGN & COMMONWEALTH OFFICE COUNTRY PROFILES
I'm always looking for sites with good country research, and this
week I found one from the British government. The UK Foreign &
Commonwealth Office Country Profiles (
http://www.fco.gov.uk/servlet/Front?pagename=
OpenMarket/Xcelerate/ShowPage&c=Page&cid=1007029394365 ) is a
page where you can get high quality research about countries
worldwide. Just click on a region of the world map, then on the
country you're interested in, and you'll get a detailed profile.
These profiles have lots of information about the population,
economy, political life, history, and other aspects of each
country, but the best thing is there are links within each
article that take you to other sites with useful information. In
particular, there are links to profiles from the UK Trade &
Investment Office, which have market research and other trade-
related data.
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A MARKET TIP FROM PIERS
http://www.piers.com/registermarkettips.asp?product=6
Tropical timber is covered by new treaty ...
The International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO), whose 59 members represent 80% of the world’s tropical forests and 90% of the US$10-billion annual trade in tropical timber, has reached agreement on a new treaty aimed at the conservation, sustainable development and increasing trade of tropical forest resources. From logs and sawn wood to veneers and parquet strips to finished doors and furniture, timber exports are the key to economic growth for countries in the tropics of Asia, Africa, and South America.
The pact is not a conventional commodity agreement. The ITTO is sensitive to environmentalists’ concerns ... and gives equal attention to sustainable development and legal harvesting. Under the agreement, consuming nations will fund projects to improve the competitiveness of wood products. The U.S. is a top consumer of tropical timber and wood products such as furniture – and PIERS trade data is the most current and complete source for detailed information on waterborne shipments of these imports.
To keep track the international events that can affect your business, subscribe to PIERS Market Tips at http://www.piers.com/registermarkettips.asp?product=6. To learn more about PIERS, visit us at www.piers.com
FITA Users are invited to try new Trade Profiles Pay-Per-View at 10% off. Visit www.piers.com to look-up Profiles on the top 300,000 trading companies in PIERS database. Use your discount code PPVFITA06 at the checkout as often as you like until June 30th. |
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PASSPORTSUPPORT.COM
Every few years my wife or I will lose a credit or debit card,
driver's license, or some other valuable card. Reporting the lost
card, cancelling accounts, and getting a new card sent out to us
is a hassle, but it's not nearly as bad as it would be if we were
overseas on a trip. PassportSupport.com (
http://www.passportsupport.com ) is designed to help travelers
with just those types of problems. For a modest fee
PassportSupport.com will let you store scanned images of your
important documents, such as credit cards (front and back),
driver's license, travelers checks, visas and passports. That
way, in case of loss or theft you can quickly access phone
numbers to cancel or get duplicates. You can store up to 20 MB
for $11 per year. This site will save you time and trouble if you
lose an important document while you're traveling.
FITA CAREER HEADQUARTERS - FEATURED JOB - ELECTRONICS ENGINEER - INTERNATIONAL SALES
In the new FITA Career Headquarters job seekers can now apply for jobs online
and post their resume--free of charge--in an exclusive database that will be searched
by hundreds of industry employers seeking employees with international degrees
and/or related work experience. Featured job this week is for an Electronics Engineer - International Sales
for Inter-Technical(ITG), a small and growing international passive electronic components company located 25 miles north of New York City. Click
here to browse more than 700 other positions! Employers - Click
here to advertise your job openings on FITA's Career HQ.
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NEW TDCTRADE.COM - CONNECTS BUSINESS TO OPPORTUNITIES IN EVERY WAY!
http://www.tdctrade.com
tdctrade.com, the ultimate trade promotion website, provides premier information and online trading platform to empower your business in the world of global trade!
The website is redesigned with six key services include:
- Sourcing:
The online trading platform that connects quality buyers and suppliers with global trading opportunities
- Hong Kong Trade Events:
Gives you the latest update on world-class trade events in Hong Kong
- Worldwide Trade Events:
Provides you the latest update on world-class trade events in all other parts of the world
- Market Intelligence:
Gets you all the latest market news and insightful analysis on global trade regulations and opportunities, especially those affecting the Hong Kong economy and China trade
- Industry Focus:
Timely update on trends affecting your industry that power your business
- Small Business Resources:
Provides one-stop service including the most updated market information, topical seminars, tips and online tools to facilitate your business operations
Enter "Surf-To-Win" Lucky Draw now!
Simply surf the virtual tour and enter into the lucky draw to WIN US$1,000 Amazon.com cash coupon!
Surf to Win Now!
Hong Kong Trade Development Council
http://www.tdctrade.com |
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AIRLINE QUALITY RATING
Before you book your next flight, visit this site. Airline
Quality Rating ( http://aqr.aero ) ranks U.S. airlines by
several measures of quality. College professors Brent Bowen and
Dean Headley have researched public records to compile rankings
based on things like lost baggage reports, on-time performance,
customer complaints and other parameters, and they give the
airlines a score. There's a 62 page report you can download which
backs up their rankings, and an Airline Quality Report Card,
which ranks the airlines as far back as 1991. This is a site to
bookmark for people who use the airlines a lot.
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GIVE US FEEDBACK!
Please tell us what you think of these Really Useful Sites! Send us your comments (newsletter@fita.org) about this or past issues or to give us suggestions about future editions!
ADVERTISING
"Really Useful Sites for International Trade Professionals" and the FITA website offer unique opportunities for advertisers to reach a targeted international market of people involved in international trade. Click here for information about advertising programs and rates.
BENEFITS FOR OUR SUBSCRIBERS
http://www.fita.org/marketplace FITA offers our subscribers many benefits. Go to the "Global Trade Shop" for services that are of great value. For example:
Take a look! We welcome our subscribers to publish this whole issue or articles from it. But please note that all material is copyrighted by FITA and must be copied with the following attribution: "This is copied from the newsletter Really Useful Sites for International Trade Professionals, a free, bi-weekly email publication of FITA - The Federation of International Trade Associations. Please feel free to subscribe to this newsletter at http://fita.org/useful."
If you'd like to see all back issues of Really Useful Sites for International Trade Professionals, the full list is at http://www.fita.org/useful/archives. |
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