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| Thursday, January 2,
2003 |
Issue 49
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VOLUME 3 ISSUE 1
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WELCOME
http://www.fita.org/
Here's your latest issue of
Really Useful Sites for International Trade
Professionals. This free bi-weekly newsletter reviews
useful Web sites from the Web Resources database at FITA's International Trade/
Import-Export Portal at www.fita.org, an excellent
source for trade leads, news, events, and a link library
of 7,000+ sites related to international trade.
My name is John McDonnell, and for years I've
been writing about useful Web sites for businesspeople,
in various publications. Now I've focused on
international trade, using my Web research skills to
find sites that are useful for international
businesspeople, and some sites that are just plain fun
for anyone.
Here are the
sites:
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OUR
FEATURED COUNTRY SITE -- TRADE UK
http://www.tradeuk.com/
Despite its small size, the
United Kingdom is the fifth-largest trading nation in
the world, and one of the top ten trading partners of
the United States. If you hanker to start a trading
relationship with Blighty, Trade
UK ( http://www.tradeuk.com ) is the place for you.
At this British government sponsored site you can search
a database of more than 60,000 UK businesses by name,
product, or service. You'll get a wealth of detail,
including Web site addresses, e-mail and snail mail
addresses, phone and fax numbers, and more. Another way
you can use this site is to send your requirements for
products or services directly to UK companies that match
your search criteria. Best of all, Trade UK is free --
you don't even need a password to use
it.
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ALL
ABOUT CARNETS
http://www.uscib.org/index.asp?documentID=1843
What's a carnet? Sounds like a
semi-precious gem, or a flower, but it's really a
document that simplifies customs procedures for the
temporary importation of various types of goods by
eliminating tariffs and value-added taxes (VAT) or the
posting of a security deposit normally required at the
time of importation. Carnets can make it easier and
cheaper to import goods, and they're recognized by over
75 countries. For more information about carnets, go to
the United States Council for International
Business site (
http://www.uscib.org/index.asp?documentID=1843 ), where
you'll find a practical how-to guide.
To look up carnet information for countries
worldwide, go to the International Chamber of Commerce site
( http://www.iccwbo.org/ata/en/findcost.asp
).
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THE
FITA BUY/SELL EXCHANGE
http://fita.worldbid.com/
FITA and Worldbid.com now
offer an International Buy/Sell exchange. The FITA Buy/Sell
Exchange at http://fita.worldbid.com is FITA's
business-to-business marketplace that helps your company
find more business by delivering tender opportunities,
RFQ's and qualified offers to buy and sell. You will
have access to a global network of affiliated trade
sites that work together to bring together businesses
across borders. Take a look!
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TWO
SEARCH ENGINE SITES
http://labs.google.com/gviewer.html
In the world of search engines
there are always new developments, as each engine
continually strives to outdo the competition. Here are
two interesting new twists in the search game.
- Google Viewer (
http://labs.google.com/gviewer.html ). When I do a
search and get a list of results, the battle's only
half over, because I have to go down the list and
click on every site that looks promising. It can be a
time-consuming task, but Google Viewer speeds that up
by allowing you to see the home page of each site on
your results list. The pages scroll by at the bottom
of your screen, and if you see something that looks
interesting, you just click on it. Each image of a
page's contents is accompanied by a short "snippet"
describing that page.
- Specialty Search Engines (
http://searchenginewatch.com/links/specialty.html ).
This is a helpful listing of search engines by
category. It's a time-saver if you're looking for
highly specific
information.
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WHATSONWHEN.COM
http://www.whatsonwhen.com/
Smashing pottery is not
something I do on a regular basis, especially not on
Easter Sunday, but if I ever visit the Greek island of
Corfu I'll remember to bring some pottery to smash on
the holiday. I learned about this quaint custom from Whatsonwhen.com (
http://www.whatsonwhen.com ), which has a database of
world holidays and festivals, with useful information
about each. This site is great for planning both
business and personal trips, because it gives you
detailed information about what's going on around the
world at various times of the year. You can search by
destination, theme (Food & Drink, Kids & Family,
Religion, etc.), date, keyword, or just browse the list
of themes to plan an unforgettable trip. This handy site
also has a worldwide business events guide (in the left
column), and resources to help you book a flight,
reserve a hotel room or a car, and much
more.
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If you'd like to
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International Trade Professionals, there's a search page
at http://fita.org/useful/search.html.
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you'd like to see all back issues of Really Useful
Sites for International Trade Professionals, the full
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Please feel free to pass this
newsletter on to others.
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Full archives
can be found at http://fita.org/useful/archives.html.
Really Useful Sites for International Trade Professionals can be
searched at
http://fita.org/useful/search.html
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