Global Opportunities

Benefit from IHA’s International Business Council, which offers opportunities, education and insight to help members succeed in the global marketplace!

Trade Facilitation Agreement: Implications for U.S. Exporters

Bureaucratic delays and “red tape” pose a burden for moving goods across borders for traders. Trade facilitation – the simplification, modernization and harmonization of export and import processes – has therefore emerged as an important issue for the world trading system. On February 22, the WTO announced that the historic Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) negotiated at…

Global Retail Intelligence – May

To follow is a brief review of retail news from around the world: May 19 – Alibaba Delivers Yet Another Year of Powerful Growth China’s vast ranks of consumers are finding ways to spend more money online — and that’s good news for Alibaba. The Alibaba Group, the Chinese e-commerce giant that a few years ago led the biggest share listing in the history of the American stock…

Cuba: Immediate Challenges & Long-Term Opportunities

IHA Staff conducted a recent market visit to Havana, Cuba to assess the market potential of this relatively closed and unknown market. Due to the lifting of certain restrictions by U.S. citizens to visit Cuba, more and more Americans are beginning to visit this nearby country, and there is the potential in the coming years that U.S. housewares companies will be able to…

Export 101: Understanding Market Selection

When choosing to sell internationally, market selection is an important but potentially daunting task. There are approximately 194 countries around the globe, and selecting where to begin exporting can have a significant impact on finances and long term success. Often, suppliers begin as an “accidental exporter”, selling to those customers and countries who proactively…

April Currency Outlook

In their April 2017 Currency Outlook report, Tempus, an exchange rate and global payments company, provides a detailed report including the following topics and sections: In Brief Stock markets declined, including a 3% Down Jones fall Record turnout in the Dutch election revealed Mark Rutte as the victor over Geert Wilders Brexit started March 29, beginning a…

MercadoLibre: Latin America’s Largest Online Retailer

As a preview to their presentation during the upcoming IBC Global Forum, the following is a brief on MercadoLibre, the leading Latin American e-commerce retailer. MercadoLibre was established in August 1999 in Argentina and rapidly expanded to Brazil (as MercadoLivre.com), Mexico and other South American countries. It is the largest e-commerce retailer in Latin America,…

Farcent Enterprise: Taiwan Brand Agent and Distributor

Farcent Enterprise Co. is seeking IHA member brands for brand agency representation or strategic partnerships in Taiwan. Farcent Enterprise Co., Ltd was founded in 1983, with over 33 years of experience in the FMCG (Fast Moving Consumer Goods) industry. Farcent is a publicly listed company on the Taiwan Stock Exchange Corp. (TWSE) listed as 1730.TW. It is a major household…

Global Retail Intelligence – April

To follow is a brief review of retail news from around the world: April 28 – Soriana (Mexico) See Solid Growth in Q1 Soriana presented positive results during the first quarter of 2017. Its revenues were 35,248 million pesos, equivalent to a growth of 1.3% compared to the same period in 2016 when it had revenues of 34.793 million pesos. This increase was driven mainly by…

March Currency Outlook

In their March 2017 Currency Outlook report, Tempus, an exchange rate and global payments company, provides a detailed report including the following topics and sections: In Brief U.S. Dollar turned around in February Economic growth and confidence are on the rise Banxico, Mexico's central bank, intervened in FX market to erase Peso’s post-U.S. election…