May is world trade month!

From the Department of Commerce - Austin Export Assistance Center. May is World Trade Month! This is an occasion to recognize the past year’s successes while looking ahead to new ways to expand exports and build a stronger economy. It’s a month for us to recognize what we know all year long: that exports are a key to our long-term economic health. To celebrate World Trade Month, export, trade and finance related agencies across the federal government are teaming up to host a series of Twitter Q&A’s for U.S. companies. Businesses can participate by tweeting their questions using the hashtag #TradeChat during the scheduled times. This Twitter chat series will provide U.S. companies with exporting solutions, including information on the resources available to begin or expand exporting goods and services to overseas markets. The Twitter chats will also provide an opportunity for firms to ask questions and connect directly with the U.S. government agencies that support President Obama’s National Export Initiative (NEI) and BusinessUSA.gov – a new one-stop resource for small businesses and exporters. Visit site for schedule and topics: http://1.usa.gov/16e4Q1I

U.S. Exports Rise to Record as Trade Deficit Shrinks

U.S. Exports Rise to Record as Trade Deficit Shrinks
The New York Times

Amidst a gloomy economic climate, exports are standing out as a bright spot in the American economy. The Department of Commerce recently reported that exports reached a record-breaking $178 billion in July, helping the United States to shrink its trade deficit by 13.1%, according to the New York Times.

For our part, the Austin-Round Rock exported nearly $4 billion of goods in the first half of 2010 (the most recent period for which data is available). Our region's primary global markets are Taiwan, South Korea, Mexico, China, Japan, Malaysia, and Canada.

Florida to Spend $2 Million for International Trade Job Training

Florida to Spend $2 Million for International Trade Job Training 

Workforce Florida, a statewide board of government and business leaders, will put $2 million towards training and career education initiatives to boost employment in the state's ports, and air cargo and international trade sectors.

The University of North Florida and the Jacksonville-based infrastructure consulting engineering firm Reynolds, Smith and Hills are among the recipients of the program's funds.

Source: WorkforceFlorida.com 

Futurist predicts unbelievable changes

Try to imagine a world where there are no post offices, banks, cash, credit cards, newspapers, marriage, air travel--even no shoplifting. This is the world that awaits us, according to futurist Bob Louden of Saratoga.   Indeed, indications of its arrival are already here. It's the wireless world, and it's not far away.

For starters, we will be able to talk to anyone in the world, and the words will be translated as they are uttered. By then iPad technology will be all over the world and business will be conducted without having to travel. Since manufacturing will be computerized, eliminating labor, only 10 percent of the population will have to be employed, the most intelligent 10 percent, he calls it.

The rest will be doing the business of humanity, whatever that is in 20 or 30 years. And living on some form of unemployment compensation dispensed by the government from funds that once went to labor costs.

Of course, Louden can't look into the future any more than the rest of us can, but he does have a firm grip on the evolution of computers--what they can do and what they're going to be able to do. He was there on the ground floor with IBM and other ground-breaking companies.

Here's the scenario he envisions: When you enter a grocery store in the near future your profile will be encoded at the entry, and you won't get in if your profile doesn't show the ability to pay. Hence, no shoplifting—and self-check out, of course. Aboard any public transit you will indicate your destination on the map, and the computer at the stop will know what language to use for the instructions.

Everyone will have access to public domain knowledge. E-books will have audio of famous speeches, video inserts, even motion and vibration inserts. Computers will be as big as a ring; iPhones will be used as credit cards are today. TVs will be 3D, even in five years. Electric cars will be charged in garages and on the highway.

Many of these transformations will occur in the next decade, since we'll have universal wireless power in 10 years, Louden predicts. Deciphering the human genome will be automatic and part of each person's profile when you step into the doctor's office.

With women, mainly educated women, marrying later or not at all, birth rate and intelligence will both decline. Educate women and we'll have fewer and fewer children--could be a model for Third World countries. Most people in the Middle Ages didn't know who their father was. The same may soon be true for us, what with longer spans of sexual activity: female puberty comes earlier these days and marriage later.

In 30 years our lives will be unbelievably changed, Louden says. Sounds like an understatement.

UPS Customs Brokerage Can help with Your Customs Filings

UPS Customs Brokerage Can Dot the "i"s and Cross the "t"s on Your Customs Filings 

As a shipper, you know how essential it is to be compliant for your importations and exportations, and how complex and intimidating the process can be for each and every shipment. As the world's largest customs broker, UPS Customs Brokerage prides itself on handling each entry individually, and leverages its knowledge of global regulations and compliance to deliver the best service possible.

UPS has brokerage operations in more than 60 countries, with the capability to clear shipments in more than 120 countries. This scale of operations is particularly beneficial to customers with export needs in addition to import needs, whether it pertains to customs clearance, consulting, trade management, or a combination of these services.

The expertise of UPS Customs Brokerage extends to its active participation as advisor and subject matter expert to US Customs as well as a number of regional and trade authorities around the world, including the European Customs Union and Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) in Asia. This involvement in the global customs arena translates into current, in-depth knowledge that benefits UPS Customs Brokerage customers with every single filing, everywhere.

UPS focuses on compliance on behalf of its customers so that they can ship with confidence and stay focused on growing their business. Call 1-888-253-2748 for more information on how UPS Customs Brokerage can help with your international shipments.

Source: UPS