Nov-Dec 2010 ITU
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- Business Opportunities in Iraq Explored During Trade Mission
- Baltimore-Area Businesses Hear About Opportunities in Iraq
- In Seven Emirates, Many Opportunities for U.S. Exporters
- Trade Calendar
- Featured Trade Event: Clean Tech and Health Care Technologies Trade Mission to Israel, Jordan, and the West Bank
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Baltimore-Area Businesses Hear About Opportunities in Iraq
Janee Pierre-Louis, commercial officer with the U.S. Export Assistance Center in Baltimore, Maryland, addressed attendees at an October 27, 2010, conference on doing business in Iraq. (U.S. Department of Commerce photo)
by Seth Maddox
Current and potential U.S. exporters interested in doing business in Iraq don’t need to travel thousands of miles to do so. Thanks to the efforts of the Department of Commerce and its partners, information on Iraq is being made available closer to home.
Representatives from more than 50 U.S. companies attended a workshop held in Baltimore, Maryland, on October 27, 2010. The all-day event, “Corporate Briefing: Iraq Is Open for Business,” featured speakers and panelists from the Iraq embassy, the Department of Commerce’s Iraq Investment and Reconstruction Task Force, the Overseas Private Investment Corporation, the Export–Import Bank of the United States, and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, as well as members of the business and legal community who are already conducting business in Iraq.
The topics covered included entering the Iraqi market, finding an Iraqi business partner, navigating the Iraqi banking system, identifying the strongest industry sectors, financing possibilities, managing risk, and complying with local laws and regulations.
According to attendee William Hutton, president of Titan Steel Corp., the event was an excellent opportunity to learn about the realities of doing business with Iraq. “There were presentations not only by the U.S. and Iraqi governments, but also by companies actually doing business in Iraq today,” noted Hutton. “The advice provided was from government and industry practitioners with actual field experience. Opportunities as well as obstacles and risks were given a full hearing.”
After the program, U.S. and Iraqi government representatives held one-on-one consultations with attendees to further address some of their individual questions.
The event was organized by the Baltimore U.S. Export Assistance Center. It was hosted and sponsored by Whiteford Taylor Preston LLP and Women in International Trade–Baltimore.
The Iraq Investment and Reconstruction Task Force plans to organize similar events across the country as part of its continuing effort to make U.S. exporters and investors aware of opportunities in the Iraqi market. For more information, visit the task force’s Web site at www.trade.gov/iraq.
Seth Maddox is an intern with the Department of Commerce’s Iraq Investment and Reconstruction Task Force.
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