Trade representatives from nine countries met with Oklahoma government and business leaders ahead of the 2019 World Trade Conference at the Oklahoma International Trade Representative Reception on April 2. The event, hosted and organized by the Oklahoma Governor International Team using funding from the Oklahoma Business Roundtable and CCK Strategies, brought more than 100 people to the Petroleum Club Oklahoma City to network and discuss opportunities to connect Oklahoma with international commerce and trade opportunities.

The nations attending included:

  • Mexico
  • Canada
  • Japan
  • Belgium
  • South Korea
  • Guatemala
  • Taiwan
  • The United Kingdom
  • France

The OKGIT, OKBR and event sponsor CCK Strategies of Tulsa worked alongside the Governor’s Economic Development Marketing Team and staff from the U.S. Department of Commerce and Oklahoma Department of Commerce to make the event a success. It was a busy week for Oklahoma’s international ties, with the following day’s 2019 Oklahoma World Trade Conference taking place at MetroTech OKC concurrent with the International Student Recognition Day at the Oklahoma Capitol.

As we prepare for another year’s events, the OKGIT wanted to look back and share a great video from our friends at the Consular General of South Korea, based out of Houston, Texas.

It seems that the political situation in the United Kingdom changes by the hour following the late-June referendum sending the U.K. out of the European Union. Despite trade between the U.S. and U.K. accounting for .5 percent of the former’s economic output, the interconnected nature of global markets and long cultural and historical ties between the two nations means that the impact will ripple across the Atlantic.

Naturally, global stocks markets have been bruised by the uncertainty, but closer to home, Oklahoma firms will also face challenges in the coming months as a result of the Brexit.

Exporters with customers inside the EU face challenges with the rising dollar, the increased value of which compared to the British pound, makes U.S. goods more expensive in Europe. The unclear regulatory environment, specifically for American firms with manufacturing operations inside the U.K. whose products are shipped to EU markets, may result in these firms facing higher costs in terms of items clearing customs and increased tariffs.

On the opposite side of the coin, for Oklahoma firms importing items from international producers, the influx of cheaper goods has the potential to benefit consumers here at home.

While President Obama’s pre-Brexit prediction that the U.K. would go to the back of the line if it left the EU in terms of a free trade agreement with the U.S., Speaker of the House Paul Ryan broached the possibility of the island nation joining NAFTA on June 28. Though no announcement of such a prospect emerged from the NAFTA leadership summit being held in Canada the following day, the addition of the U.K. would impact American businesses.

The combination of anemic domestic hiring numbers in the past two months combined with uncertainty in global markets may result in the U.S. Federal Reserve delaying its interest rate increase plan. According to Bloomberg, “Fed Chair Janet Yellen had been saying that an increase could be appropriate “in coming months,” but that language has been conspicuously absent from her speeches following a weak May jobs report.”

For Oklahoma’s small businesses and entrepreneurs though, the Fed’s delay could provide a short-term benefit. As noted in Forbes, “small business owners and aspiring entrepreneurs still benefit from low interest rates, relatively loose purse strings, and the efficiency of borrowing thanks to financial technology advances.”

For the time being, Oklahoma firms have an excellent resource for all of their questions through OKGIT partner Karen Bell, British Honorary Consul in Houston, whose diplomatic jurisdiction include Texas, , Arkansas, Louisiana and Oklahoma.

Shared via our friends at www.GlobalTrade.net, with better relations on the horizon under new Argentine President Mauricio Macri, now may be the time for Oklahoma companies to assess opportunities and risks to doing business with Argentina.

The agricultural biotechnology sector in Argentina

Argentina continues to be the third largest producer of biotech crops after the United States and Brazil, producing 14 percent of the world ́s total biotech crops. China’s approval of GE events continues to be a top priority for Argentine foreign trade.

See the full Federation of International Trade Association’s report for Argentina online here.

(Top photo: American President Barak Obama shares a toast with new Argentine President Mauricio Macri. Photo courtesy www.WhiteHouse.gov)

The state’s longtime honorary consul for Germany, Charles Wiggins, has stepped down after more than 20 years of service. At a ceremony inside the Oklahoma State Capitol’s Blue Room, German Consul General for Houston, Ricarda Redeker accepted Wiggins’ resignation and thanked him for his work in bringing Oklahoma-German ties closer over the past two decades.

Wiggins initially took his position up in June 1995.  Consul General Redeker presented Wiggins with the Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany for his longtime commitment to Germany.

Filling Wiggins’ position will be well known Oklahoma City attorney, Jeremy Tubb.

Tubb is the current mayor of Lake Aluma, a small municipality in Oklahoma City, and since 2012 has been with Fuller, Tubb, Bickford & Krahl, PLLC. He is fluent in German and in the past has taught English in Poland.

 

There is an excellent opportunity for Oklahoma businesses to send a delegate to the 10th Global Project Plaza in Seoul, South Korea on May 24-26, which includes a free round trip flight and three night stay at the InterContinental Seoul COEX.

Global Project Plaza is the principal global platform for industry/resource cooperation. Held every year since 2008, the event is designed to develop a more concrete business relationship and explore potential contract opportunities between guests from overseas and Korean contractors. GPP is designed to nurture stronger relations with reputable Korean companies in the construction, energy, plant, engineering (EPC) and finance industries.

The deadline to apply closes Friday, April 15, so don’t hesitate to throw your hat in the ring for this exciting opportunity shared with us from the Oklahoma Department of Commerce.

For more information or if interested in attending, please contact Benjamin Brand from the KOTRA North America HQ office in New York City at 212-826-0900 ext. 225 or by email benbrand.kotra@gmail.com. Deadline for applicants is April 15th.

Download the brochure at http://tinyurl.com/jzvmvoc.

For two days on March 31-April 1, the Tulsa Global Alliance and Global Ties Arkansas are partnering with the University of Tulsa to host the Diplomacy Begins Here: Global Ties U.S. Regional Summit in and around historic Tulsa. OKGIT member Bob Lieser is the point of contact for this multi-day event that has participants running all over the Tulsa metro areas to promote international friendship and connections. Each trip has a cost, so contact Bob Lieser at blieser@tulsaglobalalliance.org or at 918-631-4801 for a price list.

TGA Diplomacy Begins Here March 31

The OKGIT has a host of resources available for international visitors – both business, academic and cultural – amongst our members. Check out our list of honorary consuls who are GIT members here.

If they can’t help you, we have ample resources to point you in the right direction through our numerous partners in the region.

Check out our diplomatic page, as well as this great resource at the World Affairs Council of Dallas-Ft.Worth.