In my capacity as both Senior Commercial Officer and as a member of the BABi Board of Directors, I am pleased to be able to
update you on how the US Commercial Service is adapting to stay abreast of today’s fast moving and changing business environment.

This year, more than any other that I can remember, our worldwide staff, including those of us in the UK, have been developing new, flexible, and often e-commerce-based, ways for us to assist companies.

Although we are happy to work with all sizes of companies, we focus on small-and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) , as they tend to need more support. Our success in adapting is a key factor behind the $21bn of global export sales that our direct clients made in 2000.

Our evolution continues – for instance, we have just launched a new B2B website that will enable US, UK and other companies to meet in cyberspace, and do business. This new portal, developed in partnership with IBM, is located at www.buyusa.com.

This is not to say that everything has changed. We still have more than 100 U. S. Export Assistance Centers (USEAC’s) throughout the United States, as well as offices in Embassies and Consulates in some 150 cities in over 80 countries around the world.

Our dedicated American and local staffs are able to assist clients in person, on the phone, via mail or video conferencing. Even in the technology age, we still realize the value that personalised assistance provides.

As a result, not only do we have offices in London and Belfast, but we also spend as much time as we can out and about developing our network throughout Great Britain. During the past year, we have met with organizations and companies from Scotland to Cornwall, and from Wales to East Anglia, to ensure that we understand the types of partnerships that these differing parts of the UK are interested in forging with the US.

While the US Commercial Service places primary emphasis on the promotion of exports of goods and services and, increasingly, technology, from the United States, we realise that the UK market is unique. Not only does each of our countries have the largest share of foreign direct investment in the other’s market, but also the English language, as well as all the other pluses, make the UK an ideal springboard for US companies wishing to expand further into Europe. We, the US Commercial Service, are ideally positioned to help them do that.

Our services can be broadly segmented into four categories: counselling, market research, trade promotion and advocacy.
Export Counselling This is perhaps the most relevant of our activities to BABi members. The Commercial Service, through our network of overseas Posts and Export Assistance Centers, counsels American businesses on their market entry strategies for countries such as the UK, while also counselling UK companies on how to best partner with US firms. We have seen the most dynamic change in this area of our operations.
‘New economy’companies work very differently from ‘traditional’ firms, and the Commercial Service is increasingly comfortable assisting either business model.
We have developed new ways of working that have considerably widened the scope of our services. Whether helping a company to find a partner through one of our fee - based programs, or counselling firms with regard to market opportunities, the World Wide Web is increasingly central to how we work.

Indeed, for more particular information on how we can help you, both American and British firms, please visit either our UK website, www.usembassy.org.uk/fcs, or our global one, www.usatrade.gov.

Market Research If you are interested in learning more about a specific industry sector, either here in the UK or elsewhere in Europe, we, and our colleagues in the Commercial Service around Europe, write market research reports that alert US companies to opportunities overseas.

The reports may be longer volumes containing detailed analysis of a particular market sector, or they may be shorter marketing insights on a very immediate or narrow topic. These reports are now available electronically and, therefore, immediately to American firms. Currently being used only in a pilot program, but to be rolled out worldwide later this year, is our Flexible Market Research service, where a report will be written (for a small fee) in response to a client’s particular information needs.

Trade Promotion The US Embassy in London is a prestigious venue for any company wishing to promote its American products, services, or indeed technology, in the UK. We organise about 100 such new product launches, seminars, and receptions a year in our International Marketing Center (IMC) . Again, details are on our website.

We also support US - UK trade with a variety of other programmes. One of the most active ones is our newly revamped American Business Information Center (ABIC) . ABIC helps UK companies that contact us to find US suppliers of products, services and technology (please visit our website for further details) . Last year, we handled about 8, 000 such inquiries from British firms.

Advocacy Although rare for trade between our two countries, given the generally ‘level playing field’ in the UK, we can, when the need arises, advocate on behalf of a fairer business environment for American companies.
Where an issue relates to EU regulations, we can cooperate with our Commercial Service colleagues in Brussels to bring the matter to the European Commission’s attention with a view to resolving it.

If you are looking to develop your American business presence into, or further into, Europe, our Showcase Europe (SCE) network can provide seamless assistance.
In particular, we provide a single market approach to market research, advocacy, and trade promotion activities in seven key industry sectors: information and telecommunications, healthcare (including biotechnology) , aerospace and defence, travel and tourism, automotive, environment and energy.

If you are planning to exhibit at a major European trade show, for instance CeBit in Germany, the Farnborough Air Show or World Travel Market in the UK, you may be able to participate in our Showtime counselling programme.

Showtime brings together Commercial Service industry specialists from around Europe to counsel US exhibitors at particular exhibitions. Individual appointment schedules are arranged ahead of time, for each participating company, that provide an opportunity to address market questions to our CS specialists.

Whether testing the water or looking to address specific issues in several countries, this one-stop, single market approach can be a valuable add-on to your presence at a show.

You can find more information about how Showcase can help you at: www.sce.doc.gov.

We continue to search for better ways to facilitate partnerships that provide a market entry for American firms to the UK, as well as ways to assist American business interests in the UK expand into the rest of Europe.

As new technologies become available, the US Commercial Service will continue to adapt in order to provide the service that you, our clients, need.

Whether you are an e-commerce company wishing to implement your market entry strategy, a manufacturer looking to find a distributor, or a company seeking to develop or promote your presence in the UK or Europe, you should find us an increasingly flexible and e-savvy partner.

The bottom line is that our entire Commercial Service team here in the UK is committed to working with you and to fostering US-UK business partnerships. We have some ideas about how to go about this but, as with any client-led service organization, we welcome, and indeed need, your input regarding what you would like us to do more of and better. Please do not be backward in coming forward!