Local Offices Local-US-Commercial-Service-Offices
Making the Government Work for You
Let’s examine some key sources of assistance that can provide additional information and help with implementation of a marketing plan for your company.
A lot of help is available to your company at little or no cost and makes the exporting process much easier.
Local U.S. Commercial Service Offices
The U.S. Commercial Service maintains a network of international trade specialists to help American companies export their products and conduct business abroad. International trade specialists are employed in offices throughout the United States and Puerto Rico to assist U.S. exporters, particularly small and medium-sized companies. U.S. Commercial Service offices are known as “one-stop shops” because they combine the trade and marketing expertise and resources of the U.S. Commercial Service, along with the financial expertise and resources of the U.S. Small Business Administration and the Export-Import Bank of the United States.
The U.S. Commercial Service also maximizes resources by working closely with state and local governments as well as private partners to offer companies a full range of expertise in international trade, marketing, and finance. International trade specialists will counsel your company on the steps involved in exporting, help you assess the export potential of your products, identify markets, and locate potential overseas partners. They work with their international colleagues in more than 75 countries to provide U.S. companies with turnkey solutions in foreign markets.
Each U.S. Commercial Service office can offer information about:
- Services to locate and evaluate overseas buyers and representatives, distributors, resellers, and partners
- International trade opportunities
- Foreign markets for U.S. products and services
- Industry information • Foreign economic statistics
- Export financing
- Export documentation requirements
- U.S. export licensing requirements and import requirements of foreign nations
- Export trade finance options
- International trade exhibition participation and certification
- Export seminars and conferences
- E-commerce strategies
- Additional local export assistance services and networking
In addition to individual counseling, there are many conferences, seminars, and workshops to help local business communities learn about international trade. Each year, U.S. Commercial Service offices participate in about 5,000 programs on topics such as export documentation and licensing, country-specific market opportunities, export trading companies, and U.S. trade promotion and trade policy initiatives. Seminars are usually held in conjunction with District Export Councils, local chambers of commerce, state agencies, and other trade organizations.