We are pleased to announce that Daniel Griswold will be the keynote speaker at our upcoming International Trade Conference, held on May 27 at the Radisson in Camp Hill, PA.

Daniel Griswold is director of the Center for Trade Policy Studies at the Cato Institute in Washington, D.C., and the author of the new Cato book, Mad about Trade: Why Main Street America Should Embrace Globalization.
Since joining Cato in 1997, Mr. Griswold has authored major studies on globalization, trade, and immigration. He has written articles for major newspapers, appeared on CNBC, C-SPAN, CNN, PBS, and Fox News, and testified before House and Senate committees.

PoolPak International is a York, PA based manufacturer of dehumidification equipment used for indoor swimming pools, spas and for commercial and industrial applications.

PoolPak sells its units around the globe through a network of representatives in 21 countries. In order to expand into new international markets, PoolPak has utilized the services of the Pennsylvania overseas trade offices and this January, with the assistance of PA's Eastern Mediterranean office, PoolPak visited Israel, met with several pre-qualified potential partners and was able to appoint a distributor for Israel. A similar project with the PA Korea office, that started nearly two years ago, resulted in a substantial order earlier this year. The units will be shipped to Korea later this month and PookPak's President Bob Paley and VP of Sales Patrick Reynolds will be in Korea to observe the start up of these units in April.

Robert Wilson, Vice President of Sales for York Wire & Cable, Inc. has been appointed by Secretary Locke of the United States Department of Commerce as the newest member of the Industry Trade Advisory Committee on Small and Minority Business (ITAC ll) which operates in partnership with the United States Department of Commerce and the office of the United States Trade Representative.
"ITAC is a highly respected group of individuals and I am honored to join them in working towards the key trade related issues affecting small and minority business," said Wilson.
The committee's mission is to strengthen the United States negotiating position by enabling the United States government and private industry to display a united front when negotiating trade agreements with other nations.

One of our member companies is interested in sharing container space for shipments to various countries. Of immediate need would be a shipment to Ireland. Anyone interested in pursuing a shared shipment, please contact us at (717) 843-1090.

The Government of Canada has reduced tariffs on numerous manufacturing inputs, machinery and equipment in an effort to promote Canadian manufacturing. This measure will also benefit U.S. companies who export to Canada by lowering the landed cost of such products and eliminating the need to certify qualifying products as NAFTA originating.
As of March 5, 2010, the MFN rates of duty for over 1,000 tariff lines were reduced to "free". For more details please review the Canada Border Services Agency tariff notice that specifies the subheadings affected by the measure. Thanks to Ted Murphy, Partner with Baker McKenzie LLP, for sharing this timely information. Coincidentally, Ted will again be presenting the NAFTA workshop scheduled for May.

Several countries are contemplating changes or implementing new regulations that might affect your company.
- The European Union is proposing new requirements on key mandatory nutritional information, provisions of allergen information and a tightening of country of origin rules.
- Effective July 1, 2010, all prepackaged food sold in Hong Kong must include the following nutrients on the label: protein, carbohydrate, fat, saturated fat, trans fat, sodium and sugars. Details can be found at the Centre for Food Safety website.
- South Korea has new food labeling regulations that will take effect on April 30, 2010, requiring mandatory inner package labeling for double packaged products; a restriction on the use of photos or pictures of fruit; and restrictions on ingredients for products that contain synthetic flavors.

The National Association for Small Business International Trade Educators (NASBITE) has announced Pennsylvania's trade promotion program as the recipient of its Program Excellence Award for 2010.

Pennsylvania's Center for Trade Development submitted a proposal titled A Performance Metrics Regimen for State Export Promotion Programs which outlines the methodologies developed to track, measure and manage activities and client impact across the 10 designated PA regions and the 24 overseas trade offices.

The Netherlands presents unique opportunities for expansion into Europe. Here are 5 good reasons to consider the Netherlands:
1) It is an excellent trial market in Europe. Products and services that do well in the Netherlands will likely do well in the larger European countries.
2) Because of its central location, companies often enter the Netherlands first, and then use those and networks as a spring board to these larger markets in Europe.
3) Despite small size, the Netherlands is a world leader in a variety of industries. This atmosphere of innovation creates unique opportunities for business relationships and partnerships.
4) Its world-class transportation infrastructure and distribution networks make the Netherlands an ideal location from which to reach much of Europe.
5) The country's rules and regulations governing business agreements and transactions are transparent. Foreign companies are able to conduct business in the Netherlands in a safe and secure manner.

PA's trade office in the Netherlands can provide free assistance should this market be of interest to you.

Euro Trade Forum
The U.S. Commercial Service's European regions are excited to have selected the Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) National Conference as the venue for its international tradecraft and client counseling program, the EuroTrade Forum.
The event will be held in Orlando, Florida from May 2-5, 2010. The MEP conference will provide companies the opportunity to meet 28 Senior Commercial Officers from U.S. Embassies throughout Europe.
For those who may not be familiar with the MEP program, our region's MEP affiliate center is MANTEC, Inc.

Trade Mission to Algeria
The 3rd Annual US Trade & Investment Mission to Algeria has been announced by the US-Algeria Business Council and the Embassy of Algeria, in Washington, D.C. The trade mission is set for May 23- 28, 2010 in Algiers, the capital of Algeria and will be led by Paul Mikolashek, Chairman of the US-Algeria Business Council and President of Raytheon International. For more information or to register, contact the US- Algeria Business Council.

Tax Credits for Manufacturers Seminar
MANTEC is hosting a seminar on March 30 that will provide information about the newly expanded R&D tax credit. The seminar will also offer updates on current and proposed tax legislation and the impact for manufacturers. The seminar is offered at the Mantec offices from 8:00 am - 10:30 am. More details can be found on the MANTEC website.