In another fantastic globaltrade.net round up, potential for partnerships with Germany and Oklahoma-based firms are great.

According to a recent release from the Federation of International Trade Professionals, “The United States are the second biggest destination for German goods after the European Union and the United States are the fourth largest supplier of Germany. The U.S.-German Treaty of Friendship, Commerce and Navigation guarantees investors in Germany national treatment and allows the free movement of capital between the United States and Germany. Taxation of US firms within Germany is regulated by a protocol on the avoidance of double taxation.

“According to U.S. Census data, trade in goods between the United States and Germany totaled $163.5 billion in 2016.”

For Oklahoma-based firms, producers and manufacturers, there are great commercial opportunities in health, food, agricultural machinery and bio-tech sectors.

In Oklahoma, a great asset is our honorary consular corps, with Germany’s Honorary Consul, Jeremy Tubb a great resource for those wanting to connect with Germany.

Check out the full export and commercial guide for Oklahoma companies here.

The country’s premier export promotion magazine is out in digital format for May 2016. Export USA offers Oklahoma exporters an affordable way to promote their products and services to 178 countries around the globe.

Read the May-June 2016 edition here.

It’s not just a good read though, as Export USA has connections that Oklahoma exporters need to market their quality products to a wide range of audiences. Rates for inclusion to the magazine’s USA Product Showcase begin at $299.

Learn more by calling 1-800-581-8533 or sign-up at thinkglobal.us/499.

If you have a great product but don’t have the budget for an in-house marketing team, Export USA partner agency ThinkGlobal helps with the development of professional content for your website, mobile devices and print marketing.

Call 1-800-581-8533 or email  thinkglobal.net for more information.

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)

From our friends over at the U.S. Commercial Service, signups are now ongoing for the 2016 Asia Pacific Business Outlook Conference taking place on April 18-19 in Los Angeles. Its the

Learn more about 18 Asia-Pacific economies key for U.S. exporters.

Learn more about 18 Asia-Pacific economies key for U.S. exporters.

conference’s twenty ninth anniversary where trade and business executives from across the world meet to explore the commercial environment in the world’s fastest growing region.

The conference also provides an opportunity for attendees to meet in person with the senior commercial officers from American embassies and consulates in 18 economies. Part of these consultations will be market assessment reports specific to your company in each of the international markets of interest, though an early sign up is encouraged so that experts have time to asses just what each firm needs.

To learn more about the conference or for more information, email U.S. Commercial Service Representative Daniel Lew or register here. For questions regarding one-on-one meetings with commercial officers, contact U.S. Commercial Service Representative Jason Sproule.

 

 

Governor Governor Nigh

Governor Governor Nigh

As a delegation from Japan visits the Sooner State to celebrate 30 years of the Kyoto-Oklahoma Sister State relationship on November 18, 2015, one former state leader can be largely credited with the initially forging those ties.

“I’m very pleased that we were able to get Oklahoma to start thinking internationally,” said former Governor George Nigh. “There were times when I was governor that we had trouble convincing people of the importance of connecting Oklahoma internationally, but I’m very proud of what it is today.”

Nigh credits his ties to the Junior Chamber International organization and his role as a pitchman of Oklahoma City as host of the group’s 1965 international congress. As both a governmental representative and junior chamber member, Nigh attended international meetings in locales as far flung as Paris and Hong Kong to promote Oklahoma City as a host for the International Jaycees.

“We had representatives from 70 countries from around the world come to Oklahoma City to attend that conference,” said Nigh in a July 2015 article on www.OKGIT.com. “Getting that international conference held here, that is what got me interested in more international things as they related to Oklahoma.”

He acknowledges that there were some feelings of resentment towards his administration’s efforts to forger global ties with Oklahoma, as well as his office’s use of funds to send the then-governor on international trips promoting the Sooner State. More so, when it came to Japanese companies, the memories of WWII and Pearl Harbor were hard to forget for many Oklahomans, even forty years after the war’s end.

“I was in the navy at the end of WWII, so I know the resentment. But, the world had changed,” said the McAlester, Oklahoma-native.

Senator Randy Bass

Senator Randy Bass

The governor made it a point of selling a landlocked state like Oklahoma as the center of the U.S. Thanks in large part to its road, rail and river infrastructure, Oklahoma is roughly one day’s journey from the east and west coasts and borders with Canada and Mexico. Its location, educated workforce and low cost of living have been selling points for many an international firm. Nigh counts the Hitachi Corporation’s basing of its factory in Norman, Oklahoma as proof of these factors.

In his trip to inaugurate the Kyoto Prefecture – Oklahoma Sister State relationship in 1985, Nigh found out he wouldn’t be the only ‘Okie in attendance at his reception press conference. Current State Senator Randy Bass, from Lawton, Oklahoma, was a professional baseball player in Japan at the time of Nigh’s visit. As a fellow Oklahoman, Bass had been invited to the governor’s reception. Though the two had never met before, Bass greeted the governor and gave a brief statement to a packed room of Japanese media.

“Randy was the most popular baseball player in Japan when I visited,” recalled Nigh. “When I saw how many people were at the reception, I said ‘My gosh, I have never received this much press attention in my whole political career!’”

The plan was for Nigh to address the assembled crowd following Bass’ remarks, who himself had to leave before the governor spoke in order to get ready for the game. However, all did not go to plan. After speaking, Bass shook the governor’s hand and excused himself from the press conference.

“He left, and every member of the press but two left before I spoke” said Nigh with a laugh. “Here I am speaking, and they’re coming up and pulling the microphones off the podium from in front of me. They came to Randy Bass. But Randy being there allowed me to become known in Japan.”

Despite that, Nigh credits Bass’ boost as being vitally important in his cementing the Kyoto-Oklahoma relationship. The two are slated to attend Wednesday’s afternoon at the reception Oklahoma State Capitol to celebrate 30 years of the sister state relationship.

Another great opportunity to learn about the second largest economy in the world and a major player on the global stage as Tulsa, Oklahoma plays host to a “China Town Hall: Local Connections, National Reflections” on Mon., October 5, 2015 at the OU-Tulsa Schusterman Learning Center.

Hosted by the National Committee on United States-China Relations, Confucius Institute at the University of Oklahoma, the East Asia Institute at the University of Oklahoma and the University of Oklahoma Tulsa, the evening will feature a panel discussion on the findings of the recent report by the National Committee and Rhodium Group concerning the increase in Chinese FDI in the U.S.

Former Clinton Administration Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin and Thomasville, Alabama Mayor Sheldon Day, Daniel Rose of the Rhodium Group will participate in the panel discussion, while Weiping Wu, Ph.D. and Chair of Urban and Environmental Policy and Planning at Tufts University will give the keynote address.

The topic of China’s increasing interest in FDI in the U.S. is not new, but its focus on markets in the central U.S. like Texas and Oklahoma has grown in recent years, as examined in this June 2015 Washington Post ‘Wonk Blog’ piece.

RSVP for the China Town Hall event is required and more information can be found by contacting Rex Burnett at rexburnett@ou.edu.

2015 China townhallflyer