Business resources
There are numerous publications and online resources available to you that are supportive of international business. The resources include consulates, trade administrations, chambers of commerce and other organizations. In addition, some companies that reside in Richardson are extensions of companies in foreign jurisdictions that may be available to assist in expanding your business to those markets.
See the following list of resources and publications to help on your next steps doing business internationaly:
National social security taxes and coverage are important to consider when sending employees into a new country. The United States is party to a number of social security agreements with other countries that help clarify taxation and coverage and prevent duplication. The U.S. Social Security Administration website has full text and summary descriptions of each agreement where you can get answers to common questions.
The World Factbook provides basic intelligence on the history, people, government, economy, energy, geography, environment, communications, transportation, military, terrorism, and transnational issues for 266 world entities.
The U.S. Department of State issues a Country Assessment and Fact Sheets about 195 different countries and areas. It contains information about the economic and diplomatic relationship between the U.S. and other countries.
Aon’s Risk Maps are an in-depth look at the major terrorism, political violence and political risk exposures facing businesses that provide actionable insights for organizations. Developed in partnership with Continuum Economics and The Risk Advisory Group – recognized experts in security and intelligence and economic research respectively – the interactive maps and analysis are an annual barometer of geopolitical trends.
The US Department of State issues a Travel Advisory for each country of the world. Travel Advisories follow a consistent format and use plain language to help U.S. citizens find and use important security information. Travel Advisories apply up to four standard levels of advice, describe the risks, and provide clear actions U.S. citizens should take to help ensure their safety.
The Census Bureau's mission is to serve as the nation’s leading provider of quality data about its people and economy. Their goal is to provide the best mix of timeliness, relevancy, quality and cost for the data collected and services provided by them.
Coface is a reference in credit insurance and risk management. With over 75 years of experience as an industry leader, and a team of 4,300 experts serving around 50,000 companies, Coface supports their clients everywhere they operate, protecting and helping them take the credit decisions necessary to strengthen their ability to sell on their domestic and export markets.
The Export-Import Bank of the United States (EXIM) is the official export credit agency of the United States. EXIM is an independent Executive Branch agency with a mission of supporting American jobs by facilitating the export of U.S. goods and services.
STEP helps small businesses overcome obstacles to exporting by providing grants to cover costs associated with entering and expanding into international markets.
XE offers free online currency tools that allow visitors to check free live currency rates, send money fast internationally over 130 countries in more than 60 currencies, view historical currency charts for any currency pair in the world, and do rate analysis using the most accurate and latest data.
The International Trade Administration strengthens the international competitiveness of U.S. industry, promotes trade and investment, and ensures fair trade and compliance with trade laws and agreements.
The International Trade Administration assembled a list of reasons why U.S. companies should pursue exporting their business to other countries.
The International Trade Administration’s Top Markets Series is meant to help exporters determine their next export market by comparing opportunities across borders. Each report ranks future export opportunities within a particular industry based on a sector-specific methodology.
The Country Commercial Guides are reports on market conditions, opportunities, regulations, and business customs. It covers 125 international markets by the U.S. Commercial Service.
Trade professionals at the U.S. Commercial Service, part of the U.S. Department of Commerce’s International Trade Administration, developed an Export Solutions with tools that can help U.S. exporters to create successful international sales strategies.
The trade financial guide is a quick reference for U.S. exporters. It contains useful information for new export sales such as terminology, common trade financing practices and government assistance.
The Advocacy Center helps U.S. companies to win foreign government contracts across the globe.
Choosing a Foreign Representative
When you are ready to choose a foreign representative or distributor, use this checklist to assess if it will be a good match. Tailor it to your company’s needs. Key factors vary significantly with the products and countries involved.
The U.S. Commercial Service is the trade promotion arm of the U.S. Department of Commerce’s International Trade Administration. U.S. Commercial Service trade professionals in over 100 U.S. cities and in more than 75 countries help U.S. companies get started in exporting or increase sales to new global markets.
When talking about U.S. Foreign-Trade Zones, Texas leads the nation with 32 FTZs, more than any other state, according to the ITA’s FTZ website. Texas ranked No. 1 for total FTZ exports, manufacturing/production-related activity, and warehouse/distribution-related exports.
The North Texas Region, an organization of business leaders, appointed by the US Secretary of Commerce whose knowledge of and expertise in international business provides a source of professional advice for local firms. Closely affiliated with the U.S. Commerce Department’s Export Assistance Centers and the U.S. and Foreign Commercial Service, over 60 DECs that exist throughout the country support the U.S. Government’s export promotion efforts.
The National Association of District Export Councils (NADEC) increases awareness and understanding of the importance of exports to the US economy through education, legislative outreach and engagement with DECs and other relevant stakeholders.
U.S. foreign-trade zones (FTZs or Zones) are the domestic equivalents of what are internationally known as ‘free-trade zones.’ They are usually located in areas with geographic trade advantages, such as major seaports, international airports, and national frontiers. Within FTZs, company goods can be unloaded, manufactured, reassembled, tested, sampled, processed, repackaged, and re-exported without the intervention of U.S. customs authorities.
STEP helps small businesses overcome obstacles to exporting by providing grants to cover costs associated with entering and expanding into international markets.
Connect Americas is the first social network for businesses in the Americas, dedicated to promoting foreign trade and international investment. It seeks to help SMEs strengthen their businesses, by providing them access to communities of clients, suppliers and investors in the region and all over the world, segmented by industry. It also provides useful and simple information about procedures and regulations for international commerce, and about the financing opportunities available in IDB member countries.
Reshoring - Harry Moser, Reshoring Initiative - Inducted to Association for Manufacturing Excellence (AME) Hall of Fame - November 17/21
November 17, 2021/Sarasota (for immediate release): The Association for Manufacturing Excellence (AME) inducted Harry Moser, president of the Reshoring Initiative®, into the AME Hall of Fame during the 2021 AME International Conference. The AME Hall of Fame recognizes industry thought leaders and influencers who support the values, principles and practices found within leading enterprise excellence organizations. The nomination criteria include the significance of an individual's contributions to the growth of enterprise excellence within the lean, continuous improvement community.
Moser joins 34 previously inducted Hall of Fame members including Jean Cunningham, George Koenigsaecker, John Shook, James Womack, and Robert “Doc” Hall. Moser was honored at the 2021 AME International Conference along with Bob Chapman (also Hall of Fame) and Joe Fisher (Lifetime Achievement Award) .
“We are excited to honor these three individuals at the upcoming AME International Conference,” said Kimberlee A. Humphrey, AME president and CEO. “Each has distinguished themselves among their peers and made considerable contributions to the AME and continuous improvement communities.”
“Lean/continuous improvement are keys to making U.S. manufacturing competitive enough to accelerate reshoring,” said Harry Moser. “To paraphrase Edwards Deming, Jim Womack and John Shook, one needed improvement is for companies to stop sourcing on the basis of price and, instead, minimize total cost. I am honored to join Jim and John in the AME Hall of Fame”
About Harry Moser: Harry Moser founded the Reshoring Initiative to bring five million manufacturing jobs back to the U.S. after working for high-end machine tool supplier GF AgieCharmilles, starting as president in 1985 and retiring in 2010 as chairman emeritus. Largely due to the success of the Reshoring Initiative, Moser was inducted into the Industry Week Manufacturing Hall of Fame in 2010 and was named Quality Magazine’s 2012 Quality Professional of the Year and FAB Shop Magazine’s Manufacturing Person of the Year. He participated actively in President Obama’s 2012 Insourcing Forum at the White House, won The Economist debate on outsourcing and offshoring, received the Manufacturing Leadership Council’s Industry Advocacy Award in 2014 and the Made in America 2019 Reshoring Award. He was recognized by Sue Helper, then Commerce Department chief economist, as the driving force in founding the reshoring trend and named to the Commerce Department Investment Advisory Council in August 2019. Moser is broadly quoted, including in the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Forbes, Financial Times, New Yorker, Washington Post and USA Today and seen on Fox Business, MarketWatch, PRI, NPR, Manufacturing Talk Radio and other national TV and radio programs. He holds a bachelor's in mechanical engineering and a master's in engineering from MIT and an MBA from the University of Chicago.
About the Reshoring Initiative: The mission of the Reshoring Initiative is to bring good, well-paying manufacturing jobs back to the United States by assisting companies to more accurately assess their total cost of offshoring, and shift collective thinking from offshoring is cheaper to local reduces the total cost of ownership. We are a nonprofit organization and offer a number of free tools to advance our mission. Additional information on the Reshoring Initiative is available at www.reshorenow.org. The Initiative’s many sponsoring associations and companies are also acknowledged on the site.
About the Association for Manufacturing Excellence
Since its founding in 1985, the Association for Manufacturing Excellence (AME) has grown into the premier not-for-profit organization for the exchange of enterprise excellence knowledge. The association’s 4,000 members come together through practitioner-to-practitioner experiences to explore lean thinking and other operational improvement methods, exchange best practices, and network. Through engaging workshops, plant tours, summits, and industry-leading conferences, AME members discover and implement new continuous improvement strategies in order to share, learn and grow. For more information, visit ame.org.