The World Trade Center of Central Pennsylvania in conjunction with Food Export USA-Northeast is presenting a unique food export seminar on March 26 from 8:30 a.m.- 3:00 p.m. at the Horst Group Office in Lancaster. This program is especially designed to provide export training for food and beverage companies. This seminar will provide an overview of how develop an export marketing plan, technical issues, and the steps to become "export ready." The cost to attend is $30 and will include a customized market report for companies that register by March 13.

Topics Include:

• Documentation
• Shipping
• Labeling
• Elements of an Export Transaction

Mark your calendar for the "Reaching Your Global Customers" Conference, our flagship event of the year. The conference will be held on April 30 at the Lancaster Convention Center. The event will focus on marketing, business development, and website strategies for the global marketplace. Sponsor and exhibitor opportunities are available. Special Thanks to our Gold Sponsor, MANTEC, Inc., and Bronze Sponsor, Fulton Bank.

We would like to congratulate WTC Member, Automation Systems Interconnect (ASI), on their 10 year anniversary. ASI is a manufacturer and supplier of electrical components used in industrial equipment. Products include terminal blocks, power supplies, switches, circuit breakers, and sensors.

Pennsylvania Overseas Trade Representatives from Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China-Shanghai, Eastern Mediterranean, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, and the UK will be in the Southcentral Pennsylvania region on March 25. Individual company appointments with the Reps will be held at the Hershey Center for Applied Research. Please call us at 717-843-1090, if you are interested in scheduling an appointment. Watch the WTC Event calendar for additional Rep visits this spring.

Through the WTCA On-line Trade Navigator, the WTC of Central PA staff can provide valuable trade data and market research for its members. The Trade Navigator supplies detailed trade compliance information, including labeling requirements, shipping documentation, customs calculator, and necessary standards for specific products. The market research portion holds over 25,000 market reports on specific industry sectors, in addition to detailed country reports, and a tradeshow search module. The Trade Flow Data feature allows for an analysis of valuable information on U.S. imports and exports based on U.S. Customs and Census Bureau statistics. This data can help determine pricing of specific products, identify countries of origin and destination, and ports of entry and exit. Data is updated monthly (90 day delay) after the U.S. Government publishes the statistics. Please contact the World Trade Center of Central PA staff if you would like to utilize any of the data or research available through the WTCA On-line Trade Navigator. This service is available only to members. Members may receive 5 complimentary reports each year.

The United States recently announced its intention to commence negotiations on a multilateral Trans- Pacific Partnership free trade agreement with Singapore, Chile, New Zealand, Brunei Darussalam, Australia, Peru and Vietnam. The federal government is seeking comments on the proposed agreement, and will convene a hearing in March 2009 to help determine the country's objectives when negotiating the pact. The results of these and subsequent hearings will help set the terms and conditions that will ultimately govern US trade with these nations, and thus, will significantly affect Pennsylvania firms that either have interests in, or that compete with, enterprises based in these countries. Because the negotiation of the proposed Partnership agreement is in the early stages, an opportunity exists for Pennsylvania enterprises to raise interests they have with respect to any of these nations with US negotiators early in the process. Businesses or associations that (1) have an interest in selling into or otherwise opening up the Singapore, Chile, New Zealand, Brunei, Australia, Peru, or Vietnam markets, (2) have other interests they believe should be included in any final Partnership agreement, or (3) believe they could be negatively impacted in the event producers in these nations gain expanded access to the US market, should consider filing comments in this matter. Comments may be submitted electronically via www.regulations.gov. Please contact Gloria Blue in the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative at (202) 395-3475, or Paul Piquado in the PA Office of Trade Policy at (717) 720-1370 or (202) 624-5470, or by email at ppiquado@state.pa.us, with any questions. The deadline for submitting comments on this matter is March 11, 2009.