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WBE.Net
Newsletter
Release
Date: 4-25-08
Billions Approved
to Help You Export to India
The Export-Import Bank of
the United States has just okayed a great windfall
for American exporters. It's a two billion dollar
program that will back financing for US sales to India.
Known as the Indian Infrastructure Facility, this
new plan will support US exports to Indian projects
in sectors such as oil and gas development, renewable
energy production, health care, small aircraft and
airport construction. Under the program, India's banks
will be able to give guarantees to provide financing
for Indian buyers of US exports. This will both speed
and ease potential sales by WBE.Net traders to the
world's second most populous nation! And all for a
good reason. Says Export-Import Bank Chairman James
Lambright, "There is a rising demand for US goods
and services in India because of their high quality
and competitive prices."
The Rice Crises.
WBE.Net Export Alert: Worldwide
exports in rice are being squeezed by shrinking global
supplies that have sparked food riots in many nations.
China, Vietnam, India and Egypt have reduced their
rice sales abroad to safeguard their domestic supplies
and keep the price of rice under control. Thailand,
the world's largest rice exporter, may be the next
country to restrict exports. Rice, the food staple
for half the world, has more than doubled in price
over the past year. Reasons for the shortage include
a long drought in Australia - a major supplier of
the grain - and the diversion of millions of tons
of corn from the food supply to the manufacture of
ethanol. Taking increasing amounts of corn off dinner
plates and putting it into gas tanks has helped spur
a run on rice. These troubles, though, are likely
to benefit the American farmer and exporter. There
is new demand for rice grown in the US, the world's
fourth largest rice exporter, and US exports are set
to grow and move into new markets. Look for traditional
buyers of Asian rice, such as Turkey, Iran and East
Africa to turn to America for supplies.
GM Takes Back
Seat, Toyota Grabs the Wheel
The results of worldwide auto
sales for the first three months of the year have
just arrived, and the news for General Motors is not
good. GM was dumped by Toyota as the world's largest
carmaker, as Toyota sold 2.41 million vehicles compared
to GM's 2.25 million during the first quarter. The
Japanese-based automaker says sales are up due to
steady demand in Europe and growing demand in Asia
- especially, you guessed it - China.
US Boosts
Border Security
The US Department of Homeland
Security is getting ready to more closely track foreigners
who come and go from the United States. Already, the
majority of all foreigners who enter America have
to submit digital fingerprints and a digital photograph
for admission into the country. The new biometric
rule will require them to provide digital fingerprints
when leaving America from any airport or sea port.
Carriers are already required to transmit biographic
information for all passengers to Homeland Security
prior to their departure from the US. Homeland Security
chief Michael Chertoff says extending such departure
ID checks to thousands more amounts to a quantum leap
in America's border security.
More Green!
As mentioned in previous WBE.Net
Newsletters, the import-export industry is "going
green," adopting procedures that reduce emissions
of carbon dioxide and greenhouse gases, and lessening
negative impacts on the environment. One example is
an industry-wide move involving packaging. A major
force behind this initiative is retail giant Wal-Mart.
The store chain exerts enormous clout, due to the
sheer volume of the goods it sells. Wal-Mart is calling
on 60 thousand of its global suppliers to reduce packaging
and conserve natural resources. The firm claims this
will save more than 750 thousand tons of carbon dioxide
from entering the atmosphere. This would be the same
as removing 213 thousand trucks from US highways per
year, saving 323 thousand tons of coal and 67 million
gallons of diesel fuel!
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