Really Useful Sites for International Trade Professionals

IN THIS ISSUE:

NORWAY -- OUR FEATURED COUNTRY SITE
TRADE AGREEMENTS DATABASE & ARCHIVE
TIPS FOR NEW IMPORTERS AND EXPORTERS
ITOOLS

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Hello, international traders! In this issue I spotlight two sites about Norway, one of the world's wealthiest countries. Then, I've got a site from the U.S. Customs Service that will give you the tools to get started importing and exporting. I also found a site that has a searchable database of all the world's free trade agreements -- and you can use it for free. Finally, I have a very useful portal to the best search engines on the planet. Happy searching!

If you'd like more information about international trade, go to FITA's International Trade/ Import-Export Portal ( http://fita.org ), an excellent source for trade leads, news, events, and a link library of 7,000 sites related to international trade.

NORWAY -- OUR FEATURED COUNTRY SITE

http://www.itds.treas.gov/Norway.htm

Until recently, if you said "Norway" to me, I'd think of Vikings, fjords, and gold medal skiers in the Winter Olympics. However, after some research I discovered that Norway is one of the wealthiest countries in the world, and that some say it has the highest quality of life anywhere. Norway had imports of US $37 billion in 2002, and has minimal trade barriers, so it has lots of potential as a market. If you'd like to research opportunities for trade with Norway, here are two good places to start:

The U.S. Treasury Department's Trade & Economic Profile for Norway ( http://www.itds.treas.gov/Norway.htm ) has links to country profiles, Norwegian government sites, financial data, and more.

The Norway page at Baltic Sea States ( http://bibl.sh.se/baltic/norway.htm ) has scores of links to news, statistics, organizations, libraries, chamber of commerce sites, and research.

There are many more links to Norway at the FITA site. Go to FITA's International Trade Web Resources at http://fita.org/webindex/index.html, click on Regional Resources and Multi-Lateral Trading Areas in the left column, then scroll down to Europe and click on Norway in the drop-down box. Or simply type "Norway" in the search box at http://www.fita.org. There are some great books on trade with Europe in the FITA Global Trade Bookstore, including Exporting to Scandinavia.

TRADE AGREEMENTS DATABASE & ARCHIVE

http://cib.tuck.dartmouth.edu/cibresearch/

If you're researching trade with a certain country, you need to look at any free trade agreements that country participates in. Now there's a new resource to help you with that task. The Center for International Business at Dartmouth University's Trade Agreements Database & Archive ( http://cib.tuck.dartmouth.edu/cibresearch/ ) has searchable versions of 164 bilateral and regional free trade and customs union agreements worldwide. You can search this archive and download the full-text versions of the agreements in PDF format. It's a great resource that is continually being updated, so it's worth bookmarking for future use.

MedjetAssist: PEACE OF MIND WHEN TRAVELERS NEED IT MOST

http://www.fita.org/travel/medjetdescript.htm

A medical doctor from West Virginia was on vacation with his wife in Rome recently when they had an extreme medical emergency. As MedjetAssist members, they made a collect call to the 24 hour hotline and received quick assistance.

They wrote, "My wife and I wish to express our deep appreciation for your rapid and professional response to our medical emergency in Rome. We were amazed at how you took care of the most minute detail and made it possible for us to return to medical care in the States as quickly as possible. When we tell people about our experience and how expertly you handled our return to the United States they cannot believe that this could be done so expertly and efficiently."

MedjetAssist is an annual membership program for U.S-based travelers providing air medical transportation to its members should they become hospitalized due to accident or illness virtually anywhere in the world. The program transports members, free of charge, to the hospital of their choice, most often in medically equipped and staffed jets. Click on www.fita.org/travel/medjetdescript.htm to become a MedjetAssist member now at reduced FITA rates.

MedjetAssist publishes a free brochure, "A Guide To Traveling Smart". Contact MedjetAssist directly at (800) 963-3538 to order it. Make sure to mention FITA to get the FITA discount if you enroll.

TIPS FOR NEW IMPORTERS AND EXPORTERS

http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/import/communications_to_industry/diduknow.xml

You just purchased a quantity of gourmet cheese from Italy on the Internet, and you can't wait for it to arrive. What you don't know is that the U.S. Customs Service could seize your purchase, because regulations prohibit the import of dairy products from certain countries without a permit. To avoid the specter of a Customs agent knocking on your door, you need to go to the U.S. Customs site Did You Know? Tips for New Importers and Exporters ( http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/import/communications_to_industry/didu know.xml ). Here you'll find lots of tips and information about complying with Customs regulations for both importing and exporting, clearly written and easy to understand.

ITOOLS

http://www.itools.com/

I don't like to waste time when I'm looking for information on the Web. I'm usually in a hurry, and I want to find what I'm looking for as soon as possible. That's why a site like iTools ( http://www.itools.com/ ) is so valuable. It's an all-in-one search page that you can use to find whatever you need on the Web. Just type your query in the search box and you can find Web sites, phone numbers, discussion groups, addresses, word definitions, translations, the latest news, quotations, encyclopedia entries, and more. If your initial search is fruitless, click on "More search tools" and you'll go to a page with eight more search engines you can use.

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