Canada is the number one destination of U.S. exports. The United States exported $249 billion of goods to Canada in 2007, contributing to the $566 billion in total trade between the nations. This bilateral trade also affects employment in the United States: 7.1 million jobs are directly linked to Canada-U.S. trade (141,500 of which are located in Wisconsin) and 18% of all U.S. trade is with Canada. Indeed, in 2007, 76% of all Canadian exports were shipped to the United States ($317 billion) and 65% of goods imported into Canada originated in the United States ($249 billion).  Since the enactment of the North American Free Trade Agreement in 1994, trade between the United Sstates and Canada has increased by an average of 6.75% annually.

Wisconsin ranks 13th nationally in trade with Canada.  In 2007, 30.5% of Wisconsin exports went to Canada ($5.8 billion). An overwhelming 71% of Wisconsin exports went to the province of Ontario, with a further 12% going to Manitoba.

The oil sands of Western Canada have spurred significant growth outside of the traditional centers in Eastern Canada.  Consumer demand for lean technology and green building materials are also opening new market opportunities.

Canadian firms are showing great interest in strategic partnerships with allies within the NAFTA region. Canada’s business practices, attitudes, and conditions are closer to those in the Midwest than are the business practices of any other country in the world. The geographical proximity reduces time and expense travelling to the market. NAFTA also offers tariff-free benefits. Add the advantages of congruent time zones, a straightforward regulatory regime, and a common language in much of Canada, and doing business in Canada simply makes good sense.

The Canadian Trade Office was opened in 1990, and is jointly funded by the states of Wisconsin and Pennsylvania. Our office offers the best possible assistance to new and established companies wishing to pursue export opportunities in the Canadian market. Nancy Ward assumed the position of Director in 2004. She is heavily involved in the local trade community, holding board positions for the International Trade Club of Toronto and the Organization of Women in International Trade-Toronto. Prior to working with the office, Nancy held positions in education and sales & marketing. Nancy completed an honors degree in Political Science and a postgraduate designation in International Business.

To make use of the services of the Canada Office, contact Stanley Pfrang, stanley.pfrang@wisconsin.gov, (608) 267-0639.

Since the beginning of the North American Free Trade Agreement, trade between the United States and Mexico has grown at an average annual rate of 11.26%. The increases in trade via NAFTA have directly led to Mexico’s ranking as the United States’ 3rd largest trade partner. In 2007, $347 billion worth of goods crossed the United States’ southern border. Mexico represents the second largest export market for U.S. goods, with $136 billion of merchandise going to our southern neighbors.

July 1, 2007	5,601,640
July 1, 2006	5,572,660

Wisconsin’s export experience reflects the experience of the United States: Mexico is the second largest export market for goods produced in Wisconsin, with 9.9% of all Wisconsin exports heading to Mexico ($1.9 billion).

Mexico is forecast to grow by 2.3% in 2008 and 2.5% in 2009. In 2007, 82.1% of Mexican exports went to the United States and 49.6% of all goods imported originated in the United States.

The Wisconsin Department of Commerce has been represented in Mexico by Mr. Vincent Lencioni since it opened in 1994. Previously, he was sub-Director of International Commerce and Investment for the American Chamber of Commerce of Mexico, the largest foreign American Chamber of Commerce in the World. Mr. Lencioni is also a Mexican attorney.

To make use of the services of the Mexico Office, contact Susan Dragotta, susan.dragotta@wisconsin.gov, (262) 691-5147.

Brazil is the world’s fifth largest country with a population of 192 million people. Taking the whole of South America as a measuring stick, Brazil covers over half the surface (8.5 million sq klm) of the continent and is home to 51% of all South Americans. The population of Brazil reflects a unique blend of African, European, Asian, and indigenous heritages. Brazil has built one of the most diverse societies on earth, in which many cultures and creeds coexist in harmony. Despite its vast size, Brazil is predominantly an urban nation, with 81% of the total population living in urban areas. It boasts a diversified, modern industrial infrastructure employing sophisticated technology to produce top-quality goods that are exported all over the world.

Brazil has a highly advanced industrial sector that includes automobiles, steel, aircraft (Embraer, the world’s third largest aircraft manufacturer), petrochemicals, computers, pulp and paper, food processing, plastic, biotechnology, to name the most important. A special note should be made of Brazil’s agribusiness, one of the most developed and dynamic in the world. The agricultural sector is highly advanced with heavy use of state-of-the-art machinery and computer software systems. Brazil ranks #1 globally in the production of coffee, sugar cane, oranges, passion-fruit, and papaya. It is #2 in soybeans, poultry and beef.

Brazil is a world leader in renewable energy technology. A large number of raw materials have been of raw materials have been studied, from tallow to over 40 kinds of oleaginous plants like castor plant, soy beans, peanuts, sunflowers, palm and babassu palm. President Lula de Silva’s administration has announced a goal of making bio-diesel the second largest energy source in Brazil, following hydroelectric power. The Brazilian bio-diesel program goal is to reduce the country’s dependence on light crude oil and diesel imports. The program also aims at reducing pollution in urban centers, and at providing incentives to cooperative family farming.

The United States is Brazil’s major trade partner. About one quarter of Brazil’s exports are destined for the US. Brazil is constantly investing in technology, innovation, competitiveness and productivity, offering market opportunities for Wisconsin exports in a variety of sectors. Brazil is also one of the three major US foreign direct investment destinations. In 2007, the United States exported $24.6 billion of goods to Brazil while importing $25.6 billion of goods from the South American nation. Furthermore, Wisconsin exported $326 million of merchandise to Brazil.

Between 2004 and 2007, the Brazilian economy grew an average of 4.4% annually. The rate of growth is forecast to decline slightly over the next several years, with a forecast of 4.1% annually between 2008 and 2012. Sustained growth, coupled with booming exports, healthy external accounts, moderate inflation, decreasing unemployment, and reductions in the debt-to-GDP ratio helped these figures. President Lula da Silva and his economic team have implemented prudent fiscal and monetary policies and have pursued necessary microeconomic reforms.

The Council of Great Lakes Governors established a trade office in Brazil on July 1, 1997. The office is a cooperative effort of the state governments of Indiana, New York, Ohio, and Wisconsin to promote exports. The Council hired Tomaselli, Völker & Zulatto Consultoria firm to represent the four states in Brazil. The office is run by three foreign trade experts: Claudia Tomaselli, Magda Völker, and Vânia Zulatto. All three were associated with the US Foreign Commercial Service in São Paulo and have extensive experience working with US exporters. Ms. Völker is the primary contact for the Wisconsin and Great Lakes companies looking for assistance in Brazil.

To make use of the services of the Brazil Office, contact Susan Dragotta, susan.dragotta@wisconsin.gov, (262) 691-5147.

There are several definitions of Europe. Geographically, it is a region of multiple countries and even more languages. Cultural differences, business practices, and consumer traits vary much from one part of Europe to another than they do among regions within the United States. The 27 current members of the European Union share many governmental institutions and economic features, but only 15 use the same currency, the euro.

Since 2004, the European Union has expanded on two separate occasions. Both of these enlargements shifted the economic centre of the Union eastward. First, in 2004, the eastern European countries Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia, and Slovenia were admitted along with the Mediterranean island nations Cyprus and Malta. The most recent expansion again featured eastern countries: both Bulgaria and Romania became member-states in 2007, increasing the population of the European Union to 499 million people speaking 23 different official languages. In comparison, the United States has a population of just under 305 million and a single common language, English.

The EU and United States share a thriving and mutually beneficial economic partnership. Their trade and investment relationship is the largest in the world and is defining the shape of the global economy as a whole. With the enlargement the EU market has become an even more important source and destination of transatlantic trade and investment for the US and has boosted cross-border business, creating economies of scale, increasing Europe’s competitiveness and leverage on world markets, and providing new opportunities for U.S. exporters and investors.

Since 2004, the employment rate has increased an average of 0.8% annually. The European Union is involved in 17% of all trade worldwide. In 2007, U.S. exports to Europe totaled € 181 billion (12.7% of all EU imports), while imports from the European Union to the United States amounted to € 262 billion (21.1% of all EU exports). Four of the United States’ top 10 trading partners are located within the European Union (and 5 of the top 15). In 2006, the European Union overtook Canada as the United States’ number one trading partner, with $602 billion of commerce crossing the Atlantic.

In 2007, 20.2% of all Wisconsin exports went to Europe, second only to Canada.

Since the new member states have joined the EU’s trade policy regime in 2004, a single set of trade rules of administrative and customs procedures applies across the enlarged Union. External tariffs in the new member states have come down, so that, in most cases, U.S. exporters benefit from lower tariffs in their trade with the new member states. All this provides enhanced access to the markets of the new member states. Conditions for investment and trade were improved.

While Europe is Wisconsin’s largest international sales and investment market after Canada, it is becoming a more and more challenging market. Almost 500 million people live within the current borders of the European Union. European markets, the Western countries in particular, have well developed distribution systems and sophisticated consumers. Some of the toughest competitors for Wisconsin manufactured goods are European. However, the continuous rise in the value of the euro over the past several years has created a huge competitive advantage for U.S. exporters. The drop in the dollar can mean higher revenues for US exporters as European sales translate into more dollars back home.

Kara Smith and Kate Clarke are the Managing Directors of Clarkesmith International, based in The Hague, The Netherlands, with affiliate offices in Germany and the UK. Kara is American and has worked in international trade and business development for 18 years. Kate, an Irish citizen, has worked in local economic development and marketing in Europe and North and South America, helping companies to enter and navigate European markets.

To make use of the services of the European Office, contact Brad Schneider, brad.schneider@wisconsin.gov, (920) 420-1796.

China became a member of the WTO in 2001. Since then, the Chinese economy has shown exceptional economic growth and increased its integration with the global economy. Many American companies have benefitted from Chinese economic growth, as evidenced by rapid and sustained increases in US exports to China. In fact, since China joined the WTO in 2001, trade between the United States and China has increased by an average of 21.4% annually. This translates into a massive increase in goods traded – from $147 billion to $387 only seven years later. Nowhere is this more evident than in the volume of trade between China and the United States over these 10 years. China was the top source of imported goods for the United States in 2007 – 19.1% of all Chinese exports were shipped to the US ($321 billion). Also, 7.3% of all imports into China came from the United States. In 2007, China surpassed Japan to become America’s third largest export market. It had been #9 in 2001.

The state of Wisconsin also enjoyed an increase in trade with China in 2007; exports to the Asian country grew to $1.2 billion, an increase of over 35% from only a year earlier.

China’s rapid expansion is forecast to continue in the near future. The expected growth rate for the country in 2008 is 9.8% and 9% for 2009. Inflation in the country remained relatively low between 2003 and 2007, averaging 2.6%.

China is a country of many regional markets from the wealthy coastal provinces to the poorer inland provinces. The coastal provinces consume the bulk of China’s imports. Wealthy entrepreneurs from this region are frequently the developers of Western China’s infrastructure and real estate development. These valuable coastal contacts are useful assets in creating opportunities for Wisconsin exporters in Western China as well. China is currently planning 22 airports in the Western China region alone.

From Chinese statistics, associations, and office enquiries we have seen growing demand in the following product categories: environmental technologies, airport technologies, emergency equipment, mining equipment, mine safety equipment, and water treatment products. There is also continuing strong growth in medical equipment, building materials, lumber, and telecommunications products and components. We anticipate that with China’s increasing compliance with international trade practices and an improving legal environment that it will become easier to enter and become successful in a number of sectors previously restricted.

The Council of Great Lakes Governors China Trade Office was opened in October 2003. The Trade Office is managed by Paul Swenson, a native of Hudson, Wisconsin. Paul has over fifteen years of business experience in China and was a member of the US Commercial Service in Shanghai where he assisted US exporters to China.

To make use of the services of the China Office, contact Beng Yeap, beng.yeap@wisconsin.gov, (608)266-1480.