GLOBAL OPPORTUNITIES

Commerce Department Announces Two New Trade Missions The Commerce Department’s International Trade Administration (ITA) is conducting two trade missions this fall that might be of interest to INDA members. On July 6, the ITA announced that it will be leading an “Environmental Technologies Trade Mission” to China and Hong Kong on October 26-November 2 designed to give U.S. firms an opportunity to “tap into some of the world’s fastest growing markets for U.S. environmental equipment and technology.”

China, ITA notes, is expected to spend tens of billions of dollars over the next several years in order to address industrial groundwater contamination, treat hazardous waste, and implement air pollution control measures to curb acid rain, SO2, and vehicle emissions. Meanwhile, Hong Kong’s government in 2002 devoted some $825 million for environmental protection work, and earmarked some $775 million for environmental infrastructure improvement.

Air pollution control products that enjoy the best sales prospects in China, according to ITA, include low-cost flue gas-desulfurization and de-NOx systems, air monitoring instruments, and vehicle emissions control and inspection devices. Best prospects for U.S. environmental exports to Hong Kong include analytical instruments, vehicle emission particulate reduction devices, water filtration equipment, and disinfection technologies (UV, membrane and ozonation).

The upcoming mission will allow representatives from 8-12 U.S. firms to arrange one-on-one appointments with prospective clients, conduct site visits and convene high-level meetings with government officials in both countries. Mission participants will spend two days in Hong Kong, two days in Beijing, and the last two days in Shanghai. Those who are interested are also invited to remain on Shanghai November 3-5 to visit or exhibit in Pollutec China 2004, an international trade show for the environmental protection industry sector.

And on July 26 the Department of Commerce announced it is sponsoring a “Consumer Goods Trade Policy Mission” to Beijing, China, November 8-9, 2004. According to Commerce, many in the U.S. consumer goods industry sector have indicated an eagerness to expand their exports to China, but feel they are not afforded the same market access to the Chinese market that Chinese exports are given to the U.S. market. This mission, which is also being led by the International Trade Administration, will give consumer goods industry representatives the opportunity to meet with Chinese officials to discuss market access issues like intellectual property rights, distribution and trading rights, standards, in an effort to expand their activities to provide products to the Chinese consumer market.

Recruitment for the consumer goods trade mission will close on September 10, 2004, and the environmental technologies mission on September 15, 2004. To learn more about these and other ITA trade missions, please visit: http://www.ita.doc.gov/doctm/tmcal.html.