Russia is a large and growing market that offers a huge potential for U.S. exporters. In 2010, Russia imported $10.7 billion in goods from the United States making it Russia’s fourth largest source of imports. Companies and farms from all 50 states export a wide variety of goods and services to Russia.

Below are Sector Opportunity Reports that ITA produced to highlight the tariff and non-tariff commitments Russia is undertaking in key U.S. export sectors. In addition, ITA’sState Opportunity Reports outline the opportunities and benefits for Russia’s WTO accession for all 50 states, their companies, workers, farmers, and ranchers.

For additional information about Russia’s WTO accession and the benefits to the United States, please click the links

Sector Opportunity Reports

State Opportunity Reports

U.S.-Russia Trade Facts

Russia is currently our 23rd largest goods trading partner with $31.7 billion in total (two way) goods trade during 2010. Goods exports totaled $6.0 billion; Goods imports totaled $25.7 billion. The U.S. goods trade deficit with Russia was $19.7 billion in 2010.

Exports

Russia was the United States’ 37th largest goods export market in 2010.

U.S. goods exports to Russia in 2010 were $6.0 billion, up 12.6% ($674 million) from 2009.

The top export categories (2-digit HS) in 2010 were: Machinery ($1.7 billion), Meat (poultry and pork) ($642 million), Vehicles ($484 million), Electrical Machinery ($395 million), and Optic and Medical Instruments ($383 million).

U.S. exports of agricultural products to Russia totaled $1.1 billion in 2010 the 17th largest U.S. Ag export market. Leading categories include: red meats, fresh/chilled/frozen ($336 million), and poultry meat ($311 million).

Imports

Russia was the United States’ 17th largest supplier of goods imports in 2010.

U.S. goods imports from Russia totaled $25.7 billion in 2010, a 41.2% increase ($7.5 billion) from 2009. U.S. imports from Russia accounted for 1.3% of total U.S. imports in 2010.

Source: Commerce.Gov

Nation2Nation publishes articles of interest to professionals involved in Supply Chain Security, Supply Chain Management, Logistics, Import Export, International Trade, Border Security, Transportation, Transportation Safety, Trucking, Railroad, Air Freight, Maritime and Cargo Management.  Contact Jeff Platts at contact@nation2nation.net.

Freight Cargo Map of the United States

- / N2N / – I have an acquaintance who owns a small, non-asset third party logistics (3PL) company.  He is constantly complaining to me about how cutthroat the transportation business is and how his customers and vendors are always cheating him out of money.  He spends a great deal of time trying to collect money and often ends up having to sue companies in order to get them to pay.

I’ve been involved in the transportation industry for a little over three years now and I can tell you that my experience has been exactly the opposite of that of my friend’s.  In three years I haven’t had a single customer stiff me for so much as a penny.  Sure, there’ve been a few slow-pays, but that’s to be expected.  In these 3 years I’ve met a lot of good people and I now consider many of them to be friends.

As a consultant that helps companies get C-TPAT certified my primary customers are importers, NVOCC’s (non vessel operating common carriers / international freight forwarders), U.S. Customs Brokers and Cross-Border Highway Carriers.  I also offer a program called “C-TPAT Compliant” for those companies that aren’t eligible for C-TPAT certification such as draymen, customs bonded warehouses, domestic trucking companies, most 3PL’s and domestic shipping and distribution companies. I think that’s a pretty good cross-section of the industry.  Even so, I’ve never encountered anyone who’s tried to cheat me.

Maybe I’ve just been lucky or maybe I’m just plain naive.  But what about you?  I’d be very interested to hear about your experiences.  I’m sure there are probably a lot of horror stories out there, but I’ll bet there are also some nice stories about transportation companies watching out for each other and stepping up to do the right thing.

——

Jeff Platts is the president of Combination Sales, Inc., a consulting firm with locations in California & New York.  Jeff can be contacted at 714-788-1531 or jeff@combinationsales.com.

Nation2Nation publishes articles of interest to professionals involved in Supply Chain Security, Supply Chain Management, Logistics, Import Export, International Trade, Border Security, Transportation, Transportation Safety, Trucking, Railroad, Air Freight, Maritime and Cargo Management.  contact@nation2nation.net.

The UAE-based Tiger Group was established in 1968, and today includes six companies specializing in engineering, manufacturing, contracting and trading: Tiger Steel Engineering; Tigerprofiles & Insulation; Al Nimr Civil Engineering; Al Nimr Steel Trading; Tiger Steel Industries; and Tiger Steel Engineering India.

This post was submitted by emirates factories.

View and/or download the free report

A comprehensive report to the president by the Export Promotion Cabinet on the National Export Initiative (NEI) highlights the efforts multiple federal agencies are already making to support U.S. exports and emphasizes the next steps that must be taken to meet the administration’s five-year goal of doubling U.S. exports and supporting millions of jobs.

President Barack Obama speaking to the President's Export Council

With U.S. exports up significantly during the first half of 2010, the Export Promotion Cabinet, in a recent report, urged President Barack Obama to continue supporting policies that provide more support and trade financing to U.S. businesses to help them dramatically increase their international sales. “Report to the President on the National Export Initiative,” was released on September 16, 2010.

According to the report, under the goals of the president’s NEI, “Exports need to grow from $1.57 trillion in 2009 to $3.14 trillion by 2015. This will only happen if U.S. companies, farmers, and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs)—the engines of economic growth—receive the encouragement and support they need as they seek new markets for their goods and services.”

Obama announced the NEI in January 2010. It seeks to double U.S. exports by 2015 and to support millions of new jobs. The president released the report in advance of his meeting with members of his newly appointed President’s Export Council (PEC) in Washington, D.C.

Advice from Industry Leaders

Since its creation in 1973, the PEC has served as a critical line of communication between the private sector and the government regarding export policy and export promotion activities. On July 7, 2010, Obama appointed 18 additional leaders from business, agriculture, and labor to join representatives from government and Congress to a newly reconstituted PEC to provide advice on how the government can facilitate growth in U.S. exports. (See August 2010 issue of International Trade Update.) The PEC’s recommendations will play a vital role in the success of the NEI.

In his meeting with PEC members, Obama noted the challenges that lay ahead. “When I made this initial announcement [of the NEI], some were skeptical, but … if we are increasing our exports by 14, 15 percent per year—something that is achievable—then we can meet our goal. And that’s one of the ways that we’re going to make this economy in the 21st century what it was in the 20th century—an unparalleled force for opportunity and prosperity for all our people.”

According to the NEI report, U.S. exports increased almost 18 percent in the first six months of 2010 compared to the same period last year.

Lending, Program Outreach Grow

The NEI report notes the progress that has been made in providing loans to U.S. companies to increase exports and in making businesses aware of the different kinds of export assistance available. The report also details the progress in implementing several initiatives across the federal government that will be critical to the success of the NEI.

For example, in 2010, the Export–Import Bank of the United States (Ex–Im Bank) increased its loan approvals by nearly 20 percent over the previous year, from $18.3 billion to $21.5 billion. This change included an increase in small-business loan approvals from $3.6 million to $4.1 million. As a result, an estimated 30,000 U.S. jobs were supported by Ex–Im Bank financing.

Another example is the Small Business Administration (SBA), which also stepped up its efforts to support SMEs. In July 2010, SBA successfully launched a pilot version of its Export Outreach Team training program in Baltimore, Maryland, and plans to roll out the program nationally in 2011.

Trade Missions

In addition to an unprecedented level of support during the past year for trade missions that take representatives from U.S. companies directly to foreign markets, there has been significant progress from bringing foreign buyers to the United States. Under its International Buyer Program, the Department of Commerce has secured the participation of nearly 8,800 foreign buyers at trade shows in the United States, which has facilitated more than $660 million in export sales.

The Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Trade Development Agency (USTDA) have also had success with reverse trade missions. The Department of Agriculture, for example, recruited more than 1,500 foreign buyers between January and September 2010. USTDA hosted 30 reverse trade missions during the same period, which represented more than $1 billion in export opportunities for U.S. companies.

For More Information

For more information about the President’s Export Council, visit the council’s Web page. The complete text of the Report to the President on the National Export Initiative, along with more information and news on the NEI, is available online at www.export.gov/nei.

The Way Forward

The NEI report emphasizes the importance of exporting to the U.S. economy, and it highlights the vast opportunities that exist for U.S. companies to sell their products to the 95 percent of the world’s consumers who live outside the United States. The report’s recommendations range from focusing on key markets and sectors to implementing specific strategies to help SME services exporters. Other recommendations include the following:

Expanding and improving existing programs, such as trade missions
Increasing export credit
Elevating and focusing commercial advocacy
Ensuring fair treatment for U.S. companies within the rules of the global trading system
Working with other countries to pursue policies that will achieve strong, sustainable, and more balanced global growth
Obama, noting the importance of exports and the success of the NEI to future U.S. economic growth, told the members of the PEC, “From the day that I took office, my administration’s highest priority has been to pull our economy out of the deepest recession of our lifetimes, to put people back to work, and to position our economy on a path of long-term and sustainable growth.”

Secretary of Commerce Gary Locke, a member of the PEC, added, “Helping American companies sell more abroad will create jobs and boost our economy. This report is a blueprint for doing just that.”

View and/or download the free report

Source = ITA

Nation2Nation publishes articles of interest to professionals involved in Supply Chain Security, Supply Chain Management, Logistics, Import Export, International Trade, Border Security, Transportation, Transportation Safety, Trucking, Railroad, Air Freight, Maritime and Cargo Management. Contact Jeff Platts at contact@nation2nation.net.

Merchandise exports of developed economies are predicted to expand by 11.5% in volume terms while the rest of the world (including developing economies and the Commonwealth of Independent States) is expected to see an increase of 16.5% for the year.

This would be the fastest year-on-year expansion of trade ever recorded in a data series going back to 1950. But such a large growth rate should be understood in the context of a severely depressed level of trade in 2009, when world exports plunged by 12.2%. The next fastest year-on-year growth was 11.8% in 1976, one year after the then unprecedented decline of 7.3% in 1975.

“The strong recovery of trade signals improved economic activity worldwide,” said WTO Director-General Pascal Lamy. “This surge in trade flows provides the means to climb out of this painful economic recession and can help put people back to work. It underscores, as well, the wisdom governments have shown in rejecting protectionism.”

World merchandise trade rose sharply in the first two quarters of 2010, driven by the recovery of GDP in both developed and developing economies (Chart 1). Most economists expect output growth to slow in the second half as fiscal stimulus measures expire and the inventory cycle winds down. This is likely to restrain the growth of trade in the second half of 2010 compared to the first half.

The global trade growth projection is consistent with the WTO Secretariat’s time-series model for import demand in a range of advanced economies, and assumes a reduced rate of GDP growth for developed countries in the second half of 2010 rather than an absolute decline.

Risks to the forecast are mostly on the downside, particularly if an unforeseen financial or macroeconomic shock triggers another economic downturn. However, some upside potential exists as well if growth is better than expected in the 2nd half of the year.

This would be the fastest year-on-year expansion of trade ever recorded in a data series going back to 1950. But such a large growth rate should be understood in the context of a severely depressed level of trade in 2009, when world exports plunged by 12.2%. The next fastest year-on-year growth was 11.8% in 1976, one year after the then unprecedented decline of 7.3% in 1975.

“The strong recovery of trade signals improved economic activity worldwide,” said WTO Director-General Pascal Lamy. “This surge in trade flows provides the means to climb out of this painful economic recession and can help put people back to work. It underscores, as well, the wisdom governments have shown in rejecting protectionism.”

World merchandise trade rose sharply in the first two quarters of 2010, driven by the recovery of GDP in both developed and developing economies (Chart 1). Most economists expect output growth to slow in the second half as fiscal stimulus measures expire and the inventory cycle winds down. This is likely to restrain the growth of trade in the second half of 2010 compared to the first half.

The global trade growth projection is consistent with the WTO Secretariat’s time-series model for import demand in a range of advanced economies, and assumes a reduced rate of GDP growth for developed countries in the second half of 2010 rather than an absolute decline.

Risks to the forecast are mostly on the downside, particularly if an unforeseen financial or macroeconomic shock triggers another economic downturn. However, some upside potential exists as well if growth is better than expected in the 2nd half of the year.

Source = WTO

Nation2Nation publishes articles of interest to professionals involved in Supply Chain Security, Supply Chain Management, Logistics, Import Export, International Trade, Border Security, Transportation, Transportation Safety, Trucking, Railroad, Air Freight, Maritime and Cargo Management. Contact Jeff Platts at contact@nation2nation.net.

“Some companies choose to pursue C-TPAT Certification all on their own.” said Jeff Platts, the C-TPAT Consultant who helped Airlift obtain their certification. “Achieving C-TPAT Certification is a difficult and challenging process. A good consultant can really help smooth the way.”

With its headquarters located near LAX, Airlift (USA), Inc. has offices and affiliates in the U.S., Asia, India and the UK. Airlift is led by its president, Ganesh Murthy. The company expertly coordinates shipments all over the world. Mr. Murthy can be reached at 1-877-724-7543, or by e-mail at ganesh@airliftusa.com.

Jeff Platts, a C-TPAT Consultant, is the founder and president of Combination Sales, Inc. as well as the publisher of nation2nation.net. Jeff can be reached at 714-788-1531, or by e-mail at jeff@combinationsales.com.

Nation2Nation publishes articles of interest to professionals involved in Supply Chain Security, Supply Chain Management, Logistics, Import Export, International Trade, Border Security, Transportation, Transportation Safety, Trucking, Railroad, Air Freight, Maritime and Cargo Management. Contact Jeff Platts at contact@nation2nation.net.

“The U.S.-Mexico trade conflict, sparked by the closure of the cross-border trucking pilot program over a year ago, remains unresolved and continues to harm American farmers and food producers. The failure of the U.S. to propose a viable solution to the trade standoff has resulted in Mexico’s release of a new list of tariffs, which will further discourage the sale of U.S. goods to Mexico and will result in more lost revenue for American exporters and even deeper damage to the struggling American economy.

“While Mexico’s new list reduces the tariff on frozen potato products from 20 to 5 percent, a tariff of any amount places U.S. products at a disadvantage on the competitive Mexican market. In one year’s time, the 20 percent retaliatory tariff on U.S. frozen potato products cost the U.S. frozen potato industry an estimated $33 million in revenue. In the meantime, Canadian potato exports to Mexico not subject to a tariff have seen a dramatic increase.

“New additions to the list of U.S. products subject to Mexican tariffs include frozen corn and frozen ham products, which increases the scope of food industries adversely affected by the failure to settle this conflict in a timely fashion.

“AFFI urges the White House and Congress to resolve this matter as soon as possible, so that normal trade with Mexico may be resumed. Every day the Mexican trade conflict drags on and the tariffs remain in place, the more significant the damage to American farmers and agricultural and manufacturing workers.”

The American Frozen Food Institute is the national trade association promoting and representing the interests of all segments of the frozen food industry. AFFI works to foster industry development and growth, and advocates before legislative and regulatory entities on the industry’s behalf. For more information, please visit www.affi.com.

Source = Business Wire

Nation2Nation publishes articles of interest to professionals involved in Supply Chain Security, Supply Chain Management, Logistics, Import Export, International Trade, Border Security, Transportation, Transportation Safety, Trucking, Railroad, Air Freight, Maritime and Cargo Management. Contact Jeff Platts at contact@nation2nation.net.

“Through President Obama’s National Export Initiative (NEI), U.S. firms both small and large have access to programs and resources designed to help expand their reach into international markets that crave American-made goods and services,” said Joel Secundy, ITA’s deputy assistant secretary for services. “Increasing exports is critical to continuing our nation’s economic recovery and creating good jobs for Americans.”

Throughout today’s sessions, ITA officials highlighted specific programs and services available to U.S. minority businesses that are new to exporting or looking to expand into additional international markets. Through the NEI, President Obama has instructed the federal government to use every available federal resource to help double American exports during the next five years to support two million jobs.

“With the National Export Initiative, American businesses that want to export  especially small and medium-sized enterprises  have a more vigorous partner in the U.S. government,” said J Joe Hurd, ITA’s senior director for trade policy and export promotion. “This initiative marks the first time the United States will have a government-wide export-promotion strategy with focused attention from the President and his cabinet.”

The federal government is expanding its trade advocacy efforts in all forms, including educating U.S. companies about opportunities overseas, directly connecting U.S. companies with new customers, and advocating more forcefully for U.S. business interests in contracting processes.

Tomorrow, Under Secretary of Commerce for International Trade Francisco Sánchez will deliver keynote remarks at the MED Week Conference, hosted by Commerce’s Minority Business Development Agency.

Source = Department of Commerce

Nation2Nation publishes articles of interest to professionals involved in Supply Chain Security, Supply Chain Management, Logistics, Import Export, International Trade, Border Security, Transportation, Transportation Safety, Trucking, Railroad, Air Freight, Maritime and Cargo Management. Contact Jeff Platts at contact@nation2nation.net.

This is a continuation of eBSI’s flagship course is a distance learning program called the International Trade Specialist (ITS) Accreditation program which lasts for 8 months. Participants in the ITS Accreditation program would cover the full spectrum of international trade from Export Marketing, Trade & Customs Practice (including significant coverage in transport and logistics), Trade Finance and Payments and of course an eBusiness Module.

The Diploma in Export Operations is an international trade course which provides successful participants with a valuable inclusive international trade qualification.

The Diploma in Export Operations has four essential objectives:

1) Acknowledgement of competence in individuals operating within the international trade and logistics environment.

2) Consolidation of knowledge and expertise of participants to an advanced Diploma level.

3) Enhancement and sharing of knowledge and expertise of international trade practitioners undertaking the Diploma.

4) Testing, assessment and formal accreditation and certification of practitioners undertaking the Diploma in Export Operations.

While undertaking the Diploma in Export Operations participants will be involved in structured guided learning. Participants will be guided by expert tutors through the technical knowledge and skills essential to practitioners participating in international trade.

The Diploma is based on 4 learning modules geared towards the strategic and more advanced elements of experienced international trade managers:
- Supply Chain Management
- Export Marketing Management
- Law of International Trade
- Global Trade Study

A very important factor for participants who choose eBSI’s accredited courses is the fact that they have lifetime access to their course materials and support forums.

For further details about this new innovative e-Learning Diploma or the ITS Accreditation please contact Thomas Smith, Operations Director of eBSI Export Academy.

eBSI Export Academy is an international distance learning institute based in Ireland, specializing in certificate and diploma programs in International Trade, Finance, Logistics, Shipping and eBusiness. BSI Export Academy may be contacted at +353-94-9381444 or http://ebsiexportacademy.com/.

Source = 24-7

Nation2Nation publishes articles of interest to professionals involved in Supply Chain Security, Supply Chain Management, Logistics, Import Export, International Trade, Border Security, Transportation, Transportation Safety, Trucking, Railroad, Air Freight, Maritime and Cargo Management. Contact Jeff Platts at contact@nation2nation.net.

IDGA’s Maritime Piracy Summit brings the global shipping community together with those responsible for the safety and security of the world’s oceans. This event will present strategies for partnership between the public and private sectors to improve the stability of maritime operations. The Summit will also present the most innovative security measures and tactics to reduce vessel vulnerability.

Several important Maritime leaders have spoken up about these pressing issues recently. VADM Maurizio Gemignani discussed the current NATO maritime mission and what role the organization plays in providing security in the European theater with IDGA.org’s Senior Editor Nick Younker. He also spoke about expanding mission areas such as participation in non-traditional roles like ISAF in Afghanistan and in the fight against terrorism and piracy. The entire podcast is available at IDGA.org.

ADM Mark Fitzgerald, Commander Naval Forces Europe/Africa and Commander, Allied Joint Forces Command Naples, also spoke with Younker about U.S. Navy and Coalition efforts against Piracy in the Horn of Africa. Events off the Somali coast have been a major disruption to maritime traffic and ADM Fitzgerald spoke candidly about the root causes of the problem and attempts to solve them from a tactical, operational, and strategic level. The podcast has been made available at www.MaritimePiracySummit.com, along with additional information including webcasts, articles, previous speaker presentations, and past attendee profiles.

For more information on attending the Maritime Piracy Summit, and to see a full list of subject matter, please visit: www.MaritimePiracySummit.com or contact Helen Frank at helen.frank@idga.org.

The Institute for Defense & Government Advancement (IDGA) is a non-partisan information-based organization dedicated to the promotion of innovative ideas in public service and defense through live conferences and events. We bring together speaker panels and events comprised of military and government professionals while attracting delegates with decision-making power from military, government, and defense industries.

In addition to our live events, IDGA also offers an online community dedicated to providing defense industry professionals with breaking news, business opportunities, introductions, podcasts, webinars, and presentations from key industry leaders. Members of our online community are able to extend their live event experience and interact with the defense industry by leveraging the opportunity to network, share ideas, best practices, and business solutions.

Source = Business Wire

Nation2Nation publishes articles of interest to professionals involved in Supply Chain Security, Supply Chain Management, Logistics, Import Export, International Trade, Border Security, Transportation, Transportation Safety, Trucking, Railroad, Air Freight, Maritime and Cargo Management. Contact Jeff Platts at contact@nation2nation.com.