Network with other WTC members and friends while enjoying an evening at the ballpark in the Fulton Bank skybox at the Lancaster Barnstormers' game. This event is free to WTC Members, but register early as space is limited. Thanks to Fulton Bank's International Group for sponsoring this event!

The WTC website has a growing "FAQ" section, which we continue to update. Last month up-to-date information on the Vietnamese Certificate of Free Sale regulations was added and the section on duty drawback was updated with new links and more detail. The "FAQ" pages can be found under the "resources" tab on the menu bar.

We researched the global utilization of social media - specifically looking at Facebook, Linked-In and Twitter, since the WTC is active on those sites and has international connections on all three. Here are some findings:

• LinkedIn has 70 million members in over 200 countries
• 50% of LinkedIn users are outside the US
• Over 500 million Facebook users
• 70% of Facebook users are outside the US
• Over 60% of registered Twitter accounts are outside the US

The United Kingdom recently enacted the Bribery Act of 2010, which touches any firm that does business in the UK. The UK Act imposes criminal penalties not only for the bribery of government and nongovernment officials, but also for a company's failure to establish adequate procedures to prevent bribery. Unlike the the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), which applies only to foreign public officials, the UK Bribery Act applies to bribery and corruption in both the public and private sectors. And unlike the FCPA, the Bribery Act contains no exemption that allows "facilitation payments".

On July 22, the Export-Import Bank of the United States (Ex-Im Bank) opened in Iraq to help finance short-term and medium-term sales of U.S. exports to Iraqi buyers in both the public and private sectors. Ex-Im Bank can provide export-credit insurance, loan guarantees and direct loans for creditworthy export sales to Iraq. Short-term insurance is available for transactions with repayment terms of 180 days or less, and up to 360 days for capital goods. Medium-term insurance, loan guarantees and loans are available for transactions with terms of up to seven years.

The Bank's working capital guarantees, which help U.S. exporters or their suppliers to obtain funds to produce or buy goods or services for export, are available to support exports to Iraq as well. Specific criteria for structuring transactions in both the private and public sectors in Iraq can be found on the Country Limitation Schedule at www.exim.gov.

Pennsylvania's Center for Trade Development will have a booth at IT Expo Busan, Sept. 8-11, 2010. PA companies can exhibit their literature for only $100. Companies with products/services in the following sectors may be interested in this low cost opportunity: Electronic Equipment , IT Convergence, Communication Broadcasting Equipment, Digital Home Appliances or Software.

The Commonwealth will again have a booth for PA companies at the Taiwan International Green Industry Show, being held in Taipei from October 25-28, 2010. Participation fee is $750, which includes space within the Pennsylvania booth, pre-arranged, one-on-one business appointments and in-country market research. Deadline to register is September 24, 2010. Contact Deb Lenker at the PA Center for Trade Development for more details on these events: delenker@state.pa.us

Join us on a bus trip for a tour of the Philadelphia seaport facilities and the UPS hub at the Philadelphia International Airport. Thanks to UPS and the Philadelphia Regional Port Authority for opening their facilities to our group. Cost to participate is $25 for members/$45 for non-members. Visit our website for more information and registration details.

Our annual "Bringing the World to YOU!" event will be held on September 27 at the Lancaster County Convention Center. We are hosting 22 of Pennsylvania's overseas trade representatives for a day of one-on-one meetings.

Our luncheon program features Terri Morrison, author of Kiss, Bow, or Shake Hands, as keynote speaker. Check our website for more details.