International Business and Technology Blog

European economic ills are back in the financial headlines, as GDP numbers disappoint. I was enjoying not being gloomy, a little bit upbeat, reporting on steady economic upticks. This was supposed to be the turnaround year. How quickly that can change. We now know that the Eurozone economies (18 of them) collectively failed to grow in Q2.2014. You might like to know who and why.

Overall an interestingly +ve picture of the EU economic growth. But as they say the devil is in the detail, so we are here to help you know your EU markets and sectors. The story remains coherent with eastern and northern European economic growth well established and continuing, but the southern countries such as Greece, Italy, France and Spain (to be watched as the next turn-around case study) remain stubbornly at zero or worse.

The USA has over 250 Foreign Trade Zones (FTZ) with different rules, processes, advantages and tax implications. But what is a Foreign Trade Zone?  It is a secure area defined by US law as being outside the Customs Territory of the USA. They are associated with an air or sea port of entry, no duty is paid upon admittance and in certain states local and federal taxes are eliminated. Once the goods leave the FTZ and enter the USA then US Customs Territory, duty and taxes apply.

Europe remains a great export destination, despite all its complexities. It is the largest destination for US exports and together, the US and Europe make up over half of world GDP and a third of global trade. While Europe is the world’s second-smallest continent, it boasts a GDP of over $17.5 trillion, with 11 of the world’s 20 largest consumer markets.

What is the agreement about? In the last six years, Canada has concluded free trade agreements with nine countries: Colombia, Peru, Jordan, Panama, Honduras, and the European Free Trade Association that includes Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland. 

Last month The Wall Street Journey's Hannah Karp published an interesting article entitled “Teaching Americans to Export*."  It covers the recent success in Los Angeles, where export volume is growing at 31%/yr. vs. 10% for other US ports.  Key to this is a regional focus on export, where their success is even more remarkable given that only 15% of California's manufacturers are exporting.   

Numerous companies have increased profits by exporting their products and services abroad, by accessing lucrative markets beyond borders of their home countries. In many cases, exporting is the only way to achieve a profitable business by fully exploiting markets around the world. However, many companies wrongly assume that exporting their goods abroad will solve a slowdown in sales in their home market.

Whether your objective is to attract new clients, increase brand awareness, or deepen customer loyalty, social media can offer you a great solution, as 36% of the content posted is related to brands! Yet do not forget that trends and preferences for certain types of social media change across different countries. When you explore the opportunity of entering the world of social media, also pay careful attention to the selection of appropriate types of social media with respect to your business type and targeted audience.

The EU and the USA have the strongest and most dependent economic relationship in the world. Their combined GDP accounts for around half of the world’s GDP and for nearly a third of international trade flow. Every year they invest large sums into FDI projects and they are each other’s major importers. Today, we will focus in our blog on the EU product demand, the most imported goods from the USA to the EU, and top EU countries interested in imports from the USA.