WadeTradeNews

Welcome to the November edition of Wade Trade News - Wade World Trade's own monthly bulletin bringing you news on developments and opportunities in international trade that are worthy of your attention. Read on now for news and contacts for Russia, Germany, the EU and South America, details of an invaluable website for research, and how you could become an accredited Government Trade Representative!

Russia announced a US$51 billion foreign trade surplus for January-August, emphasising the country's development as a trading partner. The Federal State Statistics Service said that foreign trade turnover during this period reached $168 billion, which was 26.4% more than last year. It included exports of $109 billion and imports of $58 billion. Of this, Russia exported US$91 billion worth of goods and imported US$45 billion to/from countries outside its traditional trading partners in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS).

It can be difficult to find reliable Russian trade sites in English. However the Russian Chamber of Commerce and Industry have a good website at www.eng.tpprf.ru. In the UK the Russian Trade Delegation has a useful website at www.rustradeuk.org. You can also get Russian news on the Pravda.ru website at www.english.pravda.ru.

Economic growth in Germany has slowed slightly as lower exports and high oil prices haven't yet been compensated for by domestic growth, the German Finance Ministry said in its latest monthly report. Export growth slowed to 0.3% in July and August, compared with the two previous months. However, the Government is due to update its economic growth forecasts for 2004 and 2005, with growth in both years currently expected to be 1.5%-2%. Economics and Labour Minister Wolfgang Clement said he sees growth at the upper end of the forecast range in both years. Earlier this week the country's leading economic institutes forecast growth of 1.8% for 2004 and 1.5% for 2005.

The German Office For Foreign Trade (BFAI) website at www.bfai.de is useful for exploring trading opportunities with Germany. AHK at www.ahk.de can link you to German Chambers of Commerce worldwide.

The European Union (EU) and South American trade bloc Mercosur - a free trade area comprising Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay and Paraguay - have extended negotiations on forming a free trade alliance into 2005, following a recent meeting in Lisbon. The extension was agreed after senior officials from both blocs failed to conclude negotiations, the main problems being agricultural trade barriers and the liberalisation of Government procurement. EU-Mercosur relations are worth keeping a close eye on, however, since when the FTA is eventually formed it will create the world's largest ever free trade area.

For more information Mercosur's official site is at www.mercosur.org.uy. The site has useful links and contacts for trading opportunities, although not all its pages are available in English.

If you have a good knowledge of a particular export or import market (or both), you could become an official Government Trade Representative for a national Government. For example, the Government of Ghana is currently advertising to find 'Trade Representatives (TR's) in Target Foreign Markets'. Their job is to assist Ghanaian business operators to promote their products and services as well as to achieve export market penetration. The period of engagement is two years (renewable), and TR's are paid a flat yearly allowance, plus fees for services provided, with full Government accreditation.

For more details on these positions visit the Ghana Embassy in Washington DC's website at www.ghanaembassy.org. However, you can find out about similar opportunities with any national Government by contacting the relevant country's Ministry of Trade & Industry, or similar.

The European Commission has recently adopted a proposal setting out the EU system of Trade Preferences (Generalised System of Preferences - GSP) for 2006-2008. The GSP is a key strategy to help developing countries reduce poverty by stimulating their exports to the European Union (EU). The Commission proposes to improve the current system in a number of areas: simplification (cutting back from five to three separate arrangements); expanding product coverage; focussing benefits on developing countries most in need; and setting up additional GSP benefits (GSP+) to encourage sustainable development. The proposal is expected to be adopted by the EU member states so that it can come into force from 1 July 2005.

The Russian Economic Development and Trade Ministry recently awarded the Gorky Car Works (GAZ) with the honour of 'Best Exporter In TheAutomaking Industry'. Up to October 2004 GAZ exported 28,470 automobiles, from a total manufacture of 179,634 units. The main export markets for GAZ vehicles are currently Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan and Armenia but recent contracts with South Africa (taxi buses), Nigeria (buses), Cuba (cars and light trucks) have been fulfilled. Sales have also been made to Algeria, Iran, Angola, Guinea, Indonesia, India, Korea, Laos, Mongolia and Turkey. GAZ plans to increase export activities to markets in East and West Europe especially Serbia and Montenegro, Estonia, Bulgaria and Germany.

When you're researching a new market you need facts, figures and statistics. But often, statistics can be pretty meaningless by themselves. So, if you'd like to have facts, figures and statistics that are actually useful you should try an incredible website called Nationmaster at www.nationmaster.com. Nationmaster is a unique site that draws information (including geographical, population, trade, financial and much more) from a variety of reliable sources, then allows you to present them in a meaningful way including tables, charts and graphs - and also compare countries and regions with one another too. It's very difficult to do Nationmaster justice in a short description like this - so we recommend you visit www.nationmaster.com sometime soon and see for yourself!

Wade World Trade have almost 60 years of experience, making us a world leader in world trade! Don't forget that the leads you receive in this bulletin are just a small selection of the information and help Wade World Trade can offer. Our products and services include newly updated courses, manuals, advice, information, online resources and worldwide trade and business contacts - more or less everything you need to start and succeed in import-export.