Issue link: https://nebusinessmedia.uberflip.com/i/1170674
22 | DOING BUSINESS IN CONNECTICUT | 2019 Evans likened the services provided to a "direct dial" to export and trade assistance. "We are the 211, 411, 511, 611 and 911 of exports and trade," she said. Among the services offered are links to business and community services that can help potential exporters with documentation paperwork, hiring of interns, and more. "We are the only agency in Connecticut that provides training services in export marketing promotion, help companies with their website digital presence, and dozens of other things. As well as working with school districts on global business training and student exchange, we organize Connecticut Export Week every spring. All of this is done out of our office." She said the center also provides website addresses and telephone numbers for all the other U.S. and foreign export and trade agencies as well as "foreign embassies to certify documentation, the Bureau of Industry and Security for licensing questions, and professional experts to help with vetting of overseas partners and customers." In addition, the team helps companies ship products from Connecticut to the rest of the world by providing logistics training, export documentation services, duty and tariff information, and duty drawback information. They'll also assist when businesses are encountering trouble with things like non-tariff barriers, and standards and certifications in a particular market. And the 911 aspect? "These are the calls that come on weekends and nights. Companies will call us and say, 'Our products are stuck in customs overseas! We have a licensing problem! We filled out the wrong paperwork!' We're fixing problems 24/7." The Middletown Export Assistance Center is part of the U.S. Commercial Service – the trade promotion arm of the U.S. DOC's International Trade Administration. With offices across the U.S. and in American embassies and consulates in approximately 80 countries, Evans said, "we can help Connecticut businesses that are bidding on foreign government contracts with advocacy services, where our embassy will meet with the foreign government and promote the Connecticut company." Overall, said Evans, the Middletown center supports roughly 2,000 Connecticut exporters. She says among the center's most successful collaborations were with ACMT, a Manchester aerospace components manufacturer whose exports and domestic portfolio have both been growing at a fast clip, and ID Mail Systems of Middletown, a provider of automated mail sorting systems. She even got a call one day from a pipe organ manufacturer who needed to ship an organ to a customer in Asia and wanted to find out how to obtain the licenses he needed to do so. She'd like to see more Connecticut businesses get into the export game. That's part of the reasoning behind Export Week, a series of webinars and live events designed to help existing exporters with any problems they may be having, and to bring new exporters into the fold. "Export Week is really about training – how to do this and that," said Evans. "Most of it is available at your desk, and it's all free. If you're an experienced exporter, you might be interested in learning more about compliance, but if you're thinking about exporting, you might want to learn about finance, insurance, or translation services." The annual event – the only one of its kind in the country – was launched three years ago and has garnered great support from organizations that recognize its value. Beyond education, Evans said, "It's really about also saying to Connecticut businesses, 'We're an exporting state. If you want to export, hop on a webinar.' We're trying to open up exporting to any company that wants to learn." For more information, visit https://2016.export.gov/connecticut/index. asp, https://www.export.gov/ccg and www.ctexportweek.com. Anne Evans, the director of the U.S. Department of Commerce's trade outpost in Middletown, hosts "Export Week" to encourage more small businesses to seek foreign customers. " " "All of the new Airbus A321s – the largest selling planes out there – are built on Pratt & Whitney engines." - Anne Evans Director of the U.S. Department of Commerce Export Assistance Center INNOVATION & TECHNOLOGY: GLOBAL BUSINESS