Uncategorized Archives - Alabama International Trade Center

Canadian Tariffs on Alabama Products: $49 Million

July 2nd, 2018
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Canada is Alabama’s #1 export destination, with $4.19 Billion in goods sent north in 2017; Canada accounts for 19% of Alabama’s $21.7 billion in total exports. Beginning on July 1, Alabama’s exporters will face stiff retaliatory tariffs on about 6% of those Canada-bound products; additional tariffs are estimated at $49 million.

Steel products: $38 million
Aluminum: $5.3 million
Pipe/Tubing: $2.2 million

Additional products impacted include plywood, prepared food products, paper products, and manufactured goods (washing machines, refrigerators).
For the complete list, download: Estimated Impact of Canadian Tariffs on Alabama Exports

EU Tariffs: Alabama businesses to pay $44 million

June 20th, 2018
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Based on Alabama’s exports to the European Union in 2017, the European Union’s retaliatory tariffs will cost Alabama businesses about $44 million. The bulk of the tariffs (91%) are targeted at flat-rolled steel products; small businesses will likely be impacted by the tariffs levied on the remaining categories, including motorcycles, door & window frames, and fencing.

The EU will begin charging import duties of 25 percent on a range of U.S. products on Friday, June 22, 2018, in response to U.S tariffs imposed on EU steel and aluminum early this month. The European Commission formally adopted a law allowing duties on 2.8 billion euros ($3.2 billion) worth of U.S. goods, including steel and aluminum products, farm products (including sweetcorn and peanuts), bourbon, jeans, and motorcycles.

The chart below shows Alabama’s exports to the EU in 2017, along with the retaliatory tariff rate and amount (had the tariff been applied to last year’s exports).

Download PDF: Impact of 20June EU Tariffs on AL

Brooks Named to AL District Export Council

June 11th, 2018
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Michael Brooks has been appointed by the U.S. Secretary of Commerce to the Alabama District Export Council (DEC), a private, non-profit organization of international business people who provide guidance and assistance on international markets to local businesses in conjunction with the U.S. Commercial Service office. Brooks is the Associate Director of the William R. Bennett Alabama International Trade Center, an economic development and outreach unit of the University of Alabama’s Culverhouse College of Business.

The District Export Council is an honor granted by the U.S. Secretary of Commerce to an individual, based on energetic leadership, position in the local business community, knowledge of day-to-day international operations, interest in export developments, and willingness and ability to devote time to council activities.

Brooks is the third representative from UA’s Culverhouse College of Business to join the Alabama DEC. Other members include Bill Cummins, Executive State Director of the Alabama Small Business Development Center Network, and Nisa Miranda, Director of the UA Center for Economic Development.

“The Alabama District Export Council’s members provide expertise on exporting to support and augment the efforts of the U.S. Commercial Service and Export Alabama Alliance to help more Alabama companies sell internationally,” according to the Commercial Service Director for Alabama, Robert Stackpole.

Brooks has 20 years of experience in international trade, and has worked with hundreds of companies in Alabama – and throughout the southeast- to help them enter new markets and increase export sales. He teaches a senior-level course in Import-Export Management at UA, and has earned the Certified Global Business Professional (CGBP) credential from NASBITE International.

The AITC, established in 1979 by Dr. William R. Bennett, professor of international marketing in UA’s College of Business, delivers export research, training, and financing services to businesses in Alabama, and provides students with hands-on internship experience. It is a part of the Alabama SBDC Network, which is funded in part by the SBA to provide professional business advising services at no cost to Alabama’s small business community. Participating businesses are required to follow a well-defined scope of work and report their economic successes: job creation, increase in sales, capital investment, jobs retained and business started.

The councils’ mission, according to the national website, is to “encourage and support exports of goods and services that strengthen individual companies, stimulate U.S. economic growth and create jobs.”

EXIM Bank Joins Forces with AITC

August 1st, 2016
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Washington, D.C. – Today the Export-Import Bank of the U.S. (EXIM) announced the launch of its Regional Export Promotion Program (REPP), a joint effort between EXIM and regional organizations with a view to stimulating U.S. export sales abroad and bolstering job growth at home.

EXIM-Bank-Alabama The program, which already boasts 38 members across 26 states and two U.S. territories, is welcoming applications from potential members.

“Since 2009, EXIM has demonstrated a historic commitment to small business exports, and our local partners were key contributors to that success,” said Fred P. Hochberg, chairman and president of EXIM. “Through REPP, the Bank will continue to grow our network of regional, state, and local partnerships we need to ensure small businesses have additional tools and access to U.S. Government resources for exporters.”

Benefits of the program for companies, especially small businesses, include assistance with outreach and counseling; introduction to marketing and training materials; and access to qualified finance experts, lenders, insurance brokers, and U.S. Government export resources.

The Alabama International Trade Center, for example, assists small businesses in Alabama to enter foreign markets and expand their export sales and is part of The University of Alabama’s efforts to boost the state’s economic development.

“The Alabama International Trade Center at The University of Alabama has a thirty-five year history of working with EXIM Bank programs, and we look forward to growing that relationship with the new Regional Export Promotion Program,” said Bill Cummins, executive state director of the Alabama Small Business Development Center Network. “I’ve seen first-hand how EXIM programs really help small businesses grow their international sales, create jobs, and improve Alabama’s economy.”

Organizations eligible for membership include local, regional, or state economic development organizations or World Trade Centers that assist small businesses.

For more information on joining the program, please visit the REPP application page at http://www.exim.gov/who-we-serve/repp.
ABOUT EX-IM BANK:

EXIM is an independent federal agency that supports and maintains U.S. jobs by filling gaps in private export financing at no cost to American taxpayers. The Bank provides a variety of financing mechanisms, including working capital guarantees and export credit insurance, to promote the sale of U.S. goods and services abroad. Almost ninety percent of its transactions directly serve American small businesses.

In fiscal year 2015, EXIM approved $12.4 billion in total authorizations. These authorizations supported an estimated $17 billion in U.S. export sales, as well as approximately 109,000 American jobs in communities across the country.

Small business exporters can learn about how EXIM products can empower them to increase foreign sales by clicking here. For more information about EXIM, visit www.exim.gov.

State of Alabama Trade Mission to Peru & Uruguay 2014

May 17th, 2014
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Event: State of Alabama Trade Mission to Peru & Uruguay
Starts: May 31, 2014
Ends: June 7, 2014

Category: International Trade
Organizer: Alabama Department of Commerce – International Trade Division
Phone: 334-353-1762
Email: dara.steele@commerce.alabama.gov

Category: Uncategorized