Governor Kevin Stitt and Secretary of State Michael Rogers welcomed Italian Consul General Frederico Ciattaglia on the latter’s visit to the Sooner State in late October.
“He’s in town visiting us and talking about our trade partnerships and the great partnership we have with his country,” Secretary Rogers said. “We are excited to have him and for the partnership we will have in the future with him, his country and Oklahoma.”
According to the Oklahoma Department of Commerce’s 2018 Oklahoma Global Report, there are 13 Italian companies in the state employing more than 664 people. The connection with Italy is part of a larger part of European countries’ in the state, which totals approximately $2.3 billion in combined investment and has resulted in nearly 4,500 jobs.
The consul general’s office is based in Houston, Texas and provides services to 10,000 Italian nationals in the states of Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana and Oklahoma. Follow them online at facebook.com/ConsolatoGeneraleItaliaHouston or visit their website here.
Representative Mark McBride talks with students at the Oklahoma State Capitol.
What looked unlikely a few months ago came to fruition on April 3 as international students from universities across Oklahoma joined Governor Kevin Stitt, Secretary for Native American Affairs Lisa Billy and more than a dozen state legislators for International Student Recognition Day at the Capitol.
Former State Legislator Travis Dunlap was the point person in organizing the event at the capitol in prior years. With his departure coinciding with a changeover in OKGIT leadership at the start of 2019 made the task of organizing the event – taking place the same day as the Oklahoma World Trade Conference – seem unlikely.
Fortunately for the OKGIT, Representative Mark McBride heard about the event and stepped into the preparations. With OKGIT Chair Douglas Price of Tulsa Community College and OKGIT member Jared Scism of the University of Central Oklahoma, the 2019 event came together on a very tight timeline. More than 40 students from 37 countries who are currently enrolled at six Oklahoma higher learning institutions visited the statehouse and heard about the business of governing from speakers like Governor Stitt, Secretary Billy and Representative McBride.
The day offered an opportunity for all. Students hailing from governing systems across the political spectrum got to see the day-to-day legislative process of representative government while in session. Meanwhile, Oklahoma’s elected leaders got to meet individuals who have left home to live and study in the Sooner State.
To learn more about the Oklahoma Governor’s International Team partnerships with international student and study abroad programs, please visit okgit.wpengine.com/education
The below is a general summary of the events and discussion at the March 2019 OKGIT meeting. It does not represent the official minutes, which will be distributed at a later date.
The meeting opened with an introduction by Shalon Simmons, who will be the featured speaker at the May 2019 OKGIT meeting. Her program at that meeting will discuss the EU General Data Protection Regulation and how it could impact Oklahoma firms. She will also be speaking at the April 3 Oklahoma World Trade Conference on the issue.
Treasurer Randy Kellogg discussed the group’s finances, emphasizing the need for members to please pay if they have not already. He has distributed invoices to members, but those unclear on their status should reach out to him. The OKGIT’s most recent financials were distributed to the group prior to the meeting via email, but if you need another copy please email theokgit@gmail.com.
Interviews for the executive director position were concluded, and the candidate selected will hopefully be in place by May 1. Once the hiring committee selects a candidate, they will notify the OKGIT members via email.
New chair Douglas Price informed of the changes made to the OKGIT Bylaws on three issues:
- Changing the status of Board Member Emeritus to count in addition to the group’s membership. Emeritus members are non-dues paying members, as their institutional knowledge is extremely valuable to our group’s success.
- Regular Board member limit has been increased to 50
- Update date and add annual reminder to review and if necessary, update bylaws
In OKGIT housekeeping news, interim-Executive Director John VanPool requested that members review the OKGIT.com/members page to ensure their profiles are updated. He is cross checking with the updated roster but wants to ensure all information is up to date. Written bios and headshots can be submitted to theokgit@gmail.com.
An order of OKGIT name tags will be put in on March 29, if you need one please email your name and company/employer to theokgit@gmail.com.
International Student Recognition Day is April 3 and the OKGIT is playing a primary sponsorship and organization role under Chair Douglas Price. He is working closely with Rep. Mark McBride, who has spearheaded the event at the legislative level. There are more than 18 legislators attending the event from 9 a.m. – 3 p.m. Add the event to your calendar here.
The Oklahoma Department of Commerce is planning a Midwestern Association of State Departments of Agriculture meeting in late June, likely June 24-27, more information will be added when available.
Together with USDOC, the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture is helping prepare for the upcoming Oklahoma World Trade Conference at MetroTech. Oklahoma Trade Representative in Mexico, Luid Domenech will be attending and will be in OKC on April 2 and Tulsa on April 4 for meetings outside of the WTC.
There are no more spaces available for the ODOC delegation to the Paris Air Show, as 50 people and Governor Kevin Stitt are slated to attend.
ODOC will also not be attending the Offshore Technology Conference this year, but will be at the GasTech Conference in Houston in September. ODOC will also be at the June 19-21 Mexico Petroleum Conference. Contact Jesse Garcia for more information.
Honorary Consul for France in Oklahoma Grant Moak reported that the Oklahoma School of Science and Mathematics has had its first exchange with a school in France. On March 21, Oklahoma and Amiens, France signed an MOU for future relations.
USDOC’s Ashley Wilson reported that aside from the Oklahoma World Trade Conference, there are a few upcoming events in Oklahoma. One is the Caribbean Road Show on May 7 inside Tulsa City Hall, another is the June 5-6 Access Asia Program with trade experts on Japan, Indonesia and Taiwan also to take place inside Tulsa City Hall.
The Oklahoma World Trade Conference on April 3 has 113 people enrolled and will include the following nine countries and their representatives. While dinner representatives are accounted for, if you or someone you know might be interested in attending a private dinner after the April 2 Oklahoma World Trade Reception at the Skirvin with a trade or consular representative, please reach out to the host. If you don’t know the host, reach out to theokgit@gmail.com.
- Belgium
- Canada
- France
- Guatemala
- Japan
- Mexico
- South Korea
- Taiwan
- United Kingdom
Oklahoma City played host to the 36th annual 20th & 21st Century French and Francophone Studies International Colloquium on March 14-16, 2019, with organizing 
efforts from staff and students at three Oklahoma universities assisting in its production.
The University of Central Oklahoma, University of Oklahoma and University of Tulsa helped prepare and organize the event, which brought academics, Francophone artists and diplomats and other experts from around the globe to the state’s capital. An organizing committee of Dr. Pamela Genova (OU), Dr. Karl Pollin-Dubois (TU), Dr. Priya Wadhera (Adelphi University) and Oklahoma Governor’s International Team member Dr. Catherine Webster led the preparations.
This year’s event focused on “catastrophes, cataclysms, adaptation and survival.”
“The new century has brought with it what seems like an endless series of disasters, both manmade and natural, throughout the Francophone World. Acts of terror in Paris, including the Charlie Hebdo and Bataclan attacks, have shaken and moved us. Moreover, cataclysmic forces of nature and global weather catastrophes that include recent flooding in France, earthquakes in Haiti, and Hurricane Irma’s direct hit on Saint Martin, have affected millions of people …
“What is the nature of catastrophe? What can be considered cataclysmic — both literally and metaphorically? How do catastrophes, cataclysms, adaptation and survival translate in literature? What is a literature of survival?”
The OKGIT was one of the event’s sponsors, donating funds for proceedings in accordance with its mission of bringing together business people, members of government at the local, state and federal levels, educators from kindergarten all the way through to post graduate studies, and international, cultural and other non profit organizations.
The Citizen Potawatomi Nation is battling a nationwide problem with a global solution.
Loss of manufacturing has affected cities, states and tribal nations across the United States. Younger people are leaving their homes to look for better work or settling for jobs with lower wages. As a result, economies in those regions have lagged.
The Citizen Potawatomi Nation and the surrounding area are no different.
James Collard, the nation’s tribal economic development director, said the answer lies in expanding the potential client pool, which comes naturally to his community.
“Historically, many of the tribes, particularly Citizen Potawatomi Nation, have been traders for hundreds and hundreds of years,” he said. “The notion of trade is in the DNA, in a sense.”
That’s why the nation began working on Iron Horse, an industrial park that replaced a cornfield blanketing 400 acres off Interstate 40 and U.S. Highway 177. The area held more than productive soil. A Union Pacific railroad runs through the middle of it.
“It just seemed to make sense,” Collard said. “The railroad runs literally right through the park. We believe in freight rail, and it is coming back. These kinds of parks can serve as a main to bring the manufacturing back that has been lost.”
Collard said this project’s return on investment is significantly higher than that of retail and other development.
“It comes down to multipliers,” he said. “Different jobs have different values.”
Collard based this value on the ability each new job has to spur more new jobs. Four new retail positions are required to trigger demand for one more job, he said. Those numbers are reversed in manufacturing. A single manufacturing job will create four to five non-manufacturing jobs, he said.
Years before tribal officials began marketing the site, they had to determine its target market. Collard said it was a good time to fall back on the tribe’s roots. They considered the long-term implications.
“It might be a way to reconnect with that emphasis on trade,” he said.
The site received its foreign trade zone designation in 2014, allowing the tribe to market several duty breaks to foreign manufacturers. Companies using the site will see duty exemptions on imported raw materials and outgoing waste and other materials. They won’t face tariffs on goods they sell to the U.S. in both public and private sectors. Users would also see fewer regulations on storage time processes.
“The cost savings are enormous,” Collard said.
Matthew Weaver is the director of marketing and business development for Foreign Trade Zone 106. The organization covers 22 counties and acts as a liaison between organizations seeking the designation and the federal government.
He said Iron Horse has a magnet site designation. Instead of seeking the designation for one specific site for a specific use, the Citizen Potawatomie Nation sought the designation for a whole park.
Companies would still have to go through an activation process, but operating on a tract that is already designated simplifies that process. Companies don’t have to seek activation if they build in Iron Horse, but it’s available.
“That’s just something that’s available in Citizen Potawatomie Nation’s toolkit,” Weaver said. “It’s a value added that (the tribe) can say, ‘We’re serious about businesses located here, and we’re sophisticated enough to know this is a major incentive.’”
Kyle Dean is an economics professor and the director of the Center for Native American & Urban Studies at Oklahoma City University. He studies the economic impact tribes have on the state.
He said the Citizen Potawatomi park’s success could bleed into other parts of the state. As nearby cities such as Dallas and Oklahoma City grow toward each other, the surrounding area tends to benefit as well, and that could increase interest in Iron Horse.
“I have high hopes for this,” he said. “I think it’s going to be good for the metro.”
Originally posted on http://www.ironhorsecpn.com/cpn-seeks-trade-boost-iron-horse-industrial-park/.
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Hardware+Tools Middle East Exhibition Hardware+Tools Middle East will be showcasing over 180 exhibitors including 3 Country Pavilions of Thailand, Taiwan and China where you can find the best cost-effective solutions to improve your projects’ profitability. If you are looking for competitive business deals, then don’t miss the opportunity to meet the source, the manufacturers themselves, at the show. 2 – 4 April, 2018
Previous Exhibitor Statements“Hardware and Tools 2017 has been a great show for us. This is our first year participating at a focused show like this and it has impressed us so much that we already look forward to returning next year. We are pleased to have been part of the new feature, Tool It!, it has allowed us to showcase the quality of our products and their uses, in a better way to the audience. Overall in terms of business, the show is one of its kind and is different from other shows that don’t consider the satisfaction of exhibitors.” – Imad Abu Hadwan, Area Sales Manager, HITACHI “We are extremely happy with the show and are excited to be here as it has been busy for us throughout the three days of thee exhibition. We have been having meetings with our customers and distributors so it was great to build on our relationship with them. Not only existing customers, but we have also built new contacts and look forward to doing more business. All gratitude extends to Hardware+Tools ME for their support throughout the show.”- Dikran Egavian, Consultant Middle East & Africa, WIHA “The show is niche and focused, yet the response we’ve had at the show has been very surprising. The visitors are focused and are the right people that we need at our stand and for us to expand our reach in the region. In terms of business, we have collected a good database of potential customers and we look forward to doing business with them soon.” –Jibu Mathews, Sales Manager, Middle East Fuji LLC |
Join the U.S. Commercial Service and the Mid-America District Export Council for DISCOVER GLOBAL MARKETS: Design + Construct, April 30- May 2, 2018.
Learn about 21st century infrastructure projects—and how to build the strong partnerships needed to win business while hearing about regional trends and opportunities in various sub-sectors such as aviation, water, energy, cultural construction and housing.
New speakers just added to discuss Global Trends and Regional Hot Spots!
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Enzo de Laurentiis, Chief Procurement Officer, Operations Policy & Country Services – World Bank |
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Cindy Wallis-Lage, President, Water Business – Black & Veatch |
Meet One-on-One with U.S. International Executives and U.S. Commercial Diplomats
Pre-schedule meetings with project owners, developers, U.S. commercial diplomats, and other government officials from key markets. Have questions on new export opportunities? Need advice in overcoming challenges? Or perhaps you’re looking for general market research? We’re ready to introduce you to representatives from the following markets:
Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Guyana, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Kuwait, Malaysia, Mexico, Morocco, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Peru, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Taiwan, and Turkey
Register Now
export.gov/DiscoverGlobalMarkets
Event Dates
April 30- May 2, 2018
Location
InterContinental Kansas City Kansas City, MO
Cost
$395
(funding for small businesses may be available through your state)
For More Information
Nyamusi Igambi
(816) 842- 0812
nyamusi.igambi@trade.gov
Matt Baker
(817) 701- 6350
matt.baker@trade.gov
Mission Overview
The Caribbean Region as a whole represents a market of about 43 million people who collectively imported over $20.9 billion of U.S. goods in 2016. The Trade Americas program offers U.S. companies the opportunity to explore six markets in the Caribbean region. Hosted in Miami, FL, the U.S. Commercial Service‘s Trade Americas Business Opportunities in the Caribbean Region Conference will focus on regional specific sessions, market access, trade financing resources, and pre-arranged one-one-one consultations with U.S. Diplomats with expertise in markets throughout the region.
Conference: May 6 – 7, 2018 | Mission: May 8 – 11, 2018
What You Can Expect
The combination of participation in the Trade Americas conference and business-to-business matchmaking appointments in ONE or TWO Caribbean countries will provide participants with access to strategies for expanding their business across the Caribbean region. By attending this conference, U.S. companies will be able to:
• Gain market insights,
• Make industry contacts
• Solidify business strategies
• Advance specific projects and
• Identify potential partners
Target Audience
The mission is open to U.S. companies from a cross section of industries with growing potential in the Caribbean region, but is focused on sectors such as: Automotive Parts and Services; Construction Equipment/Road Building Machinery/Building Products/Infrastructure projects; Medical Equipment and Devices/Pharmaceuticals; ICT; Energy Equipment and Services; Safety and Security Equipment; Hotel and Restaurant Equipment; Franchise; Manufacturing Equipment; Yachting industry/Maritime services/Sailing Equipment.
Conference & Mission Dates:
Conference: May 6 – 7, 2018; Mission: May 8 – 11, 2018
Locations:
Miami, FL (Business Conference); Dominican Republic; Bahamas; Barbados; Haiti; Jamaica; Trinidad and Tobago
Cost:
Conference Only
• $400 per participant
Conference plus B2B Meetings in One Country
• $2,100 for small and medium sized enterprises*(<500 employees)
• $3,100 for large firms*
Conference plus B2B Meetings in Two Countries
• $2,800 for small and medium sized enterprises*(<500 employees)
• $3,800 for large firms*
*Expenses for travel, transportation, lodging, most meals, and incidentals will be the responsibility of each mission participant.
If you have questions regarding the webinar series, upcoming trade mission, or need assistance with registration, please contact Delia Valdivia at Delia.Valdivia@trade.gov.
OKGIT members and partners from across Oklahoma’s manufacturing and commercial sectors filled the room at Oklahoma City University’s Meinders School of Business in mid-April for the Oklahoma World Trade Conference. Congratulations to those in attendance and those who were honored for the work in furthering Oklahoma’s trade ties.