L.A. port program serves as NEI model

L.A. port program serves as NEI model    The Port of Los Angeles has proved so successful at opening export opportunities for U.S. companies that the federal government wants to replicate its Trade Connect program around the country.
   On Tuesday, National Export Initiative Director Courtney Gregoire offered to partner with the American Association of Port Authorities on export promotion and trade missions, saying ports can act as a bridge to overseas markets and teach local businesses how to navigate bureaucratic hurdles that make it difficult to sell in foreign markets.
   Trade Connect began about five years ago in response to direction from the harbor commission for the Port of Los Angeles to focus more on exports, Executive Director Geraldine Knatz said in an interview during the AAPA's spring conference at the historic Willard Hotel in Washington.
   Port traffic at U.S. ports in recent decades has been unbalanced towards imports because of larger trends in the global economy.
   The program has helped buyers in India find American high-quality Pima cotton and a California wine, matched a Japanese trading company looking for frozen French fries with a Los Angeles food supplier that now has a two-year contract, connected a Chinese natural food store with a natural food supplier in Southern California, and introduced Boyd's Coffee to agents in Japan and China, Knatz said.
   'Boyd's has been in business more than 100 years and this is the first time they're looking at going overseas,' she said.

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   Port staff also connected a buyer for paper mills in Japan with a scrap tire disposal firm that now exports the old tires for use as a clean power source in factory boilers.
   And it helped a California company that received a contract to supply building materials to the U.S. Army in South Korea by finding cheaper transportation on vessels that haul steel to the United States and previously returned home empty.
   Some of the port's marketing staff that normally would be stationed overseas was dedicated to work on trade facilitation for business in Southern California, the port director said. Their efforts led to an ongoing series of workshops, sponsored by Gregoire's International Trade Administration at the Department of Commerce, designed to introduce companies to the basics of exporting, including market research, costs, risk mitigation, trade financing, insurance requirements, documentation and logistics.

Knatz

   Knatz said the port tries to find other local sponsors, such as a bank or association of freight forwarders, for each event, some of which are targeted at specific audiences in ethnic areas of town or a manufacturing area like the San Fernando Valley. Marketing officials from the Los Angeles World Airports often participate too. Her staff takes leads gathered at the workshops and follows up with one-on-one counseling for companies.
   Trade Connect also organizes local conferences about trade opportunities in specific countries such as Japan, Korea and India, Knatz said.
   And the Port of Los Angeles is taking a new approach by trying to facilitate trade for vertical markets. The first effort, she said, is designed to support the fashion industry, which has a significant manufacturing presence in Southern California.
   Businesses within the Los Angeles Customs District export about $4 billion of garments and apparel per year, about one-tenth the amount that is imported, she said.
   After reaching out to the California Fashion Association, port officials realized that local apparel makers were not taking advantage of foreign trade zones and that they faced some unique challenges, including difficulties selling products in China, Knatz said.
   An foreign trade zone is a designated area where foreign and domestic merchandise is considered to be outside the country, or at least, outside of U.S. Customs territory. Certain types of merchandise can be imported into a zone without going through formal Customs entry procedures or paying import duties. Customs duties and excise taxes are due only at the time of transfer from the FTZ for U.S. consumption. If the merchandise never enters the U.S. commerce, and is exported, then no duties or taxes are paid on those items.
   On April 12, the Port of Los Angeles will host a special workshop along with UPS and a local law firm to deal with fashion export issues. It will be held at 7:30 to 11 a.m. at the Grammy Museum at L.A. Live and cover trade assistance programs and protecting intellectual property rights, according to a flyer promoting the event.
   Information provided will include:
   ' Labeling, testing requirements and regulations'
   ' Contact information for the U.S. Commercial Consulate in various countries of interest'
   ' Contact information for export finance assistance'
   ' International distribution solutions for apparel manufacturers.
   On top of all that, Knatz said the Los Angeles port authority also brings in local businesses to interact with foreign trade delegations that come to tour the port so that the contacts they make extend beyond port staff.
   Another good marketing tool, she said, is Facebook. The Port of Los Angeles has a Facebook page and Knatz's personal page is linked to that of the port. Many oversees buyers and other parties seek information about business opportunities through the social media site and the port has put someone in charge of handling all Facebook messages.
   'I'm amazed at how many things come at us through Facebook. If you're not on Facebook as a port, there could be leads you're missing,' she said.
   Four types of U.S. products in demand by foreign buyers, based on recent canvassing of overseas markets, are composite car bodies, components for environmentally friendly refinery upgrades, sensors and software for monitoring water usage for farms and vineyards, and solar powered water purification systems for rural markets, Knatz said. The port plans to follow up on those leads and match them with suitable U.S. manufacturers.
   Knatz said there are no guarantees that any of the deals brokered by the port will directly result in cargo being moved through its terminals. Some business is likely to come the port's way, she added, but that's not the point of the effort.
   'That's part of our economic development role. If we connect a company and they go out of another port, I don't care,' she said. ' Eric Kulisch