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Hello International Traders! John McDonnell here, with your latest issue of Really Useful Sites for International Trade Professionals.
I have a site in this issue that has lots of information to help you research trade opportunities with Pakistan, which has made an impressive turnaround since 9/11. Also, the Harmonized Tariff Schedule has undergone a major revision, and I have a site to get you up to speed with the changes. If you pay taxes internationally, I have a site with links to all the major tax agencies, so you can get information with the click of a mouse. Finally, I found a site with amazing predictions about the future, from some of the best minds in Science.
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.
| PAKISTAN
Our Featured Country
Everyone knows the economic success story of China, but there's another country that's had a strong GDP growth rate in the past few years. It's Pakistan. Pakistan has had a remarkable turnaround since the 9/11 tragedy, when the country was described as a hotbed of terrorist activity. After 9/11 the U.S. and Europe forgave billions of dollars of debt, and the U.S. pledged economic and military aid. This, combined with prudent economic measures by the Pakistani government, has engineered an economic boom. Pakistan's GDP growth was above 7 percent in 2004 and 2005, and this trend is expected to continue in the long term.
If you'd like to investigate opportunities for trade with Pakistan, a good site to visit is the Australian Trade Commission's country profile of Pakistan ( http://www.austrade.gov.au/australia/layout/0,,0_S2-1_CLNTXID0019-2_-3_PWB153528-4_-5_-6_-7_,00.html ). This site has lots of information to help you, including: political and economic overviews, trade statistics, industry reports, advice on business etiquette, tariffs & regulations, public health requirements, visa requirements, travel tips, currency conversion, foreign investment policy, and much more.
You'll also find plenty of good research at the Pakistan Mini Portal ( http://fita.org/countries/pakistan.html ), a feature of the FITA Web site. The Pakistan Mini Portal has an overview of the country, with facts about the language, currency, climate, etc., plus more specific information about the economy, Pakistani markets, taxes, labor market indicators, tips on doing business in Pakistan, and a search engine to help you find market research on the Internet.
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 Pakistan Mini Portal is one of many research gateways at the 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 an excellent book about doing
business in Pakistan. Check out Culture Shock! Pakistan.
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CHANGES IN THE HARMONIZED TARIFF SCHEDULE
Stay Informed about Upcoming Changes
If you export or import into the U.S., you need to know the Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS). This is a list of product codes for goods that are brought into the U.S., and the codes are linked to duty rates for specific products. Businesspeople who do a lot of trade know the HTS like the back of their hand, because using the wrong code for a product can result in a company paying more duty than it should. The HTS is about to undergo a major revision, and if you want to keep abreast of what's happening, go to the U.S. International Trade Commission's page about the Harmonized Tariff Schedule ( http://www.usitc.gov/concerning_2007_hts.asp ). Bookmark this page, because on January 1, 2007, the ITC will post an updated electronic version of the HTS, although it won't be the final version. The final version, with changes recommended by the World Customs Organization (WCO), is expected to be posted in late January or February 2007.
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KEEP UP WITH INTERNATIONAL TAX LAWS
Worldwide Tax Information
It's all too true, as the saying goes, that, "The best things in life are free, but sooner or later the government will find a way to tax them." Taxes are a fact of life everywhere, and that's why you need to visit the Internet Law Library's International Tax Laws by Country ( http://www.law-library.info/page/tax-international.htm ). This is a page of links to governmental tax agencies all over the world. Just click on a link and you'll go to the tax site for that country, where you can find tax forms, instructions, and information to help you meet your tax obligations.
AMAZING PREDICTIONS FOR THE NEXT 50 YEARS
Brilliant Minds Forecast the Next 50 Years
The beginning of a new year always brings predictions, and the media is full of self-proclaimed experts giving their take on what's going to happen in the future. I don't pay too much attention to it, but when I saw this Special Report from NewScientist.com, called "Brilliant Minds Forecast The Next 50 Years" ( http://www.newscientist.com/channel/opinion/science-forecasts ) I had to take a look. It's a site worth visiting, because there are predictions from some very smart people, and you'll be amazed by what they say. I don't know if all the predictions will come true, but reading these capsule-sized items is a fun way to spend some time, and it gets you thinking about the future.
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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. . |
Published by Federation of International Trade Associations
Copyright © 2006 Federation of International Trade Associations. All rights
reserved.
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