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OKGIT focus: Oklahoma State University Center for International Trade and Development

AnthonyCambas

Anthony Cambas

By Anthony Cambas, Director Wes Watkins Center for International Trade and Development

The Center for International Trade and Development (CITD) / International Trade Center – Small Business Development Center (ITC-SBDC) at Oklahoma State University (OSU) is located at the Wes Watkins Center on the main campus in Stillwater, Okla. As its name indicates, the CITD focuses on international trade and international development. In the area of international development, the CITD provides technical assistance and training on Customs, exporting and business development to governments, donors, international development agencies and entrepreneurs throughout the world.   The CITD has gained a global reputation for excellence and its staff have traveled to Africa and Latin America to undertake such activities.

In the area of international trade, the ITC-SBDC is a specialty center within the Oklahoma Small Business Development Center (OKSBDC) network and provides high quality and confidential consulting and advising on import and export matters to small businesses throughout the state. The center works closely with various local, federal and state stakeholders to help Oklahoma-based firms begin exporting and to increase their international sales to more countries if they are already doing so. Expanding the export of goods and services from Oklahoma is important to the economic wellbeing of the state as it fosters job creation and retention and leads to an improvement in the quality of life for Oklahomans.

The CITD also plays an increasingly important role for OSU and its students at the undergraduate and graduate levels. For students with an interest in working in international trade and development in the public or private sectors, the CITD provides opportunities for students to gain “real life” experience and mentoring. It also offers various training and networking events as well as a for credit course that prepares students to take and pass the CGBP exam in collaboration with the School of International Studies Graduate Program at OSU. The CGBP credential demonstrates proficiency in international trade to employers and is nationally and internationally recognized.

If you would like to learn more about the OSU Center for International Trade and Development or to contact its staff, please visit http://citd.okstate.edu/ieo.aspx?page=1190.

CITD Director Anthony Cambas is a former U.S. Customs official who hold a B.A. in International Relations and a certificate in Latin American and Caribbean Studies from Florida International University in Miami, Florida and a Masters in International Customs Law and Administration from the Centre for Customs and Excise Studies (CCES) in Australia. Anthony was selected as a Fellow of the Small Business Network of the Americas (SBNA), is a Licensed Customs Broker (LCB), Certified Customs Specialist (CCS) and Certified Global Business Professional (CGBP) with nearly 30 years of experience in the public and private sectors. In his varied career, Cambas has worked as a U.S government official, exporter and as a Customs and trade expert on a number of international Customs, trade facilitation, business enabling environment, entrepreneurship and export capacity building projects in Africa, Asia and Latin America.