WBE-Net Newsletter
Release
Date: 10-18-07
Your
"Inside" Friend Overseas
As you pursue your new
career as a WBE-trained exporter of American goods to the world, you will need friends in far-away places. One such friend is the foreign
agent. Exporters hire foreign
agents to represent them overseas because it makes good sense. A country that is strange to you will have a
lot of little secrets you'll need to know, to be successful and to save
precious time. The foreign agent can
provide you with intimate knowledge of
local business practices, language, laws, and culture. When you need help with finding customers,
marketing to them, digging up new opportunities, translation, getting a handle
on local travel and hotels, and understanding local regulations, you can turn
to a foreign agent. To find a foreign agent, check with the chamber of commerce in your target
market.
Eye in Sky to
Track US, Mexico Truckers
WBE Member/Exporter Update: When US and Mexican big
rigs travel through both countries as part of the new cross-border trucking
experiment, Big Brother will be watching...by
satellite. That's the latest word from
the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, which is overseeing the
one-year demonstration project. The
agency is setting up a program which will use GPS and wireless technology covering both nations to track the
trucks' positions at all times. The
orbiter will make note of each vehicle's hours
of service, any territorial
violations and the times and dates
the rigs cross the US-Mexico border as well as state lines. For a
list of US and Mexican trucking
firms cleared to take part in the cross-border project, click to
www.fmcsa.dot.gov/cross-border/cross-border-carriers.htm.
Things Not
Flowing for Boeing
A new embarrassment for America's biggest jet
exporter, Boeing: forget about the promised May 2008 delivery
date for the 787 Dreamliner. That date has just been delayed by at least six months, due to ongoing troubles surrounding
the new lightweight, carbon-composite passenger jet. Boeing blames this newly-announced delay mainly on glitches in the 787's flight control
software. More than 700 Dreamliners have been ordered by
dozens of airlines around the world.
But the biggest headache - read migraine - will belong to Japan's All-Nippon Airways, the first
buyer in line. ANA was hoping to use a fleet of 50 Dreamliners to fly passengers
to and from next year's Summer Olympics in Beijing.
Update for Car
Exporters
The
United Auto Workers Union now trains its cross-hairs
on Ford, after settling two very short strikes with GM and Chrysler. Chrysler workers were walking off the job
even as news arrived that fellow UAW members had ratified a four-year deal with
GM after a two-day walkout. Just six hours later, however, Chrysler
workers, too, were back on the job, thanks to a second four-year deal. That leaves Ford as the remaining target of
the union, which is pushing carmakers to keep jobs in the US and to guarantee
pensions. Ford is likely to be a tough bargainer, because it's already on the
ropes financially, losing more than 12
billion dollars last year.
WBE-Net Member
Tip: Help for Minority Exporters
The
Minority Business Development Agency -
part of the US Commerce Department - is the only federal agency created solely for the purpose of promoting the
set-up and growth of small, medium and large minority-owned businesses in
America. MBDA is committed to creating wealth in minority communities,
based on helping entrepreneurs. Its
Minority Business Development Centers throughout the US provide one-on-one
assistance in writing business plans, marketing, and lining up financing for business ventures. To find out where the nearest Minority Business Development Center
is, go to www.mbda.gov.
