Ambassador of the Month Archive

EU Leaders Will Ask Ministers to Clear Negotiating Mandates for US Trade Talks

Wednesday, March 20, 2019

European Union leaders will ask their trade ministers to quickly approve negotiating mandates for the European Commission to start formal trade talks with the United States, draft conclusions showed. “The necessary steps should be taken for the rapid implementation of the U.S.-EU Joint Statement of 25 July 2018,” the draft conclusions, seen by Reuters, said. The EU has been in talks on trade with Washington since July 2018, when U.S. President Donald Trump agreed to hold off new punitive tariffs while the two sides worked on ways to improve economic relations. Source: Reuters

Multitude of Irish-US/California Trade, Investment Ties in Spotlight

Tuesday, March 19, 2019

The strong trade and investment links between Ireland and the United States, as well as California, were celebrated last week at a California Chamber of Commerce breakfast held in conjunction with CalChamber Board events. The CalChamber Council for International Trade meeting, sponsored by Frontier Communications, was one of several gatherings in the week leading up to St. Patrick’s Day featuring the release of the US-Ireland Business 2019 report by the American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham) Ireland. Speaking at the March 15 breakfast were the Honorable Simon Harris, Irish minister for health and former minister of state; Carin Bryans, vice president of AmCham...

UK Fieldfisher Law Experts Detail Implications of Brexit for Irvine/US Medical Device Manufacturers and Distributors

Tuesday, March 19, 2019

Deal. No deal. EU extension or second referendum. The one word everyone agrees upon when describing Brexit and its implications for the U.K. and every company that does business in the country is: uncertainty. Although the March 29 deadline is looming, negotiations with the EU for a delay and Parliament debate continues. Fieldfisher, the European law firm specializing in lifesciences and technology law visited the Greater Irvine Chamber on March 19. Alison Dennis, Partner with the London Office, met with the Chamber and its foreign direct investment delegation in 2017, just months after the Brexit vote. Knowing that Irvine has a...

HSBC Returns to OC World Trade Week as the 2019 Presenting Sponsor

Monday, March 18, 2019

HSBC is the presenting sponsor for the fifth-annual Greater Irvine Chamber Orange County World Trade Week (OCWTW) Breakfast and Forum, to be held on Thursday, May 16, 7:30 a.m. – 12 p.m., at the Irvine Marriott, 18000 Von Karman Ave. A continued sponsor of the program, HSBC is one of the world’s largest banking and financial services organizations, serving more than 39 million customers through four global businesses. The bank’s network covers 66 countries and territories in Europe, Asia, the Middle East, Africa, North America, and Latin America. HSBC has been connecting Americans to global opportunities since 1865. The OCWTW 2019 program...

California Still a Top Exporting State

Thursday, March 14, 2019

The U.S. Department of Commerce now has 2018 trade statistics available through the International Trade Administration’s (ITA) “Trade Stats Express.” In 2018, California exported $178.4 billion to 230 foreign economies, up from $172 billion in 2017. California’s top export markets are Mexico, Canada, China, Japan, and South Korea. California is one of the 10 largest economies in the world with a gross state product of more than $2.5 trillion. International trade and investment are major parts of the state’s economic engine that broadly benefit businesses, communities, consumers and state government. California’s economy is diverse, and the state’s prosperity is tied to exports...

Chinese Delegation Visits Greater Irvine Chamber

Wednesday, March 13, 2019

A trade delegation of more than 20 business leaders and government officials from the Chinese province of Shaanxi in March visited the Greater Irvine Chamber to learn about services available through the Chamber, and how the organization operates as a business association. The Chamber’s economic development team presented on Irvine’s strengths as a master-planned community; the city is an economic powerhouse, with its strong life-science and technology sectors, and robust innovation eco-system. As part of their visit, the delegates met with Bryan Starr, president and CEO, Greater Irvine Chamber. Driving forward economic development in the region, the Greater Irvine Chamber regularly hosts international delegations...

CalChamber Joins in Launching Coalition Supporting U.S.-Mexico-Canada Pact

Friday, March 01, 2019

The California Chamber of Commerce has joined more than 200 companies and associations in launching the USMCA Coalition, which will advocate congressional approval of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement. The coalition includes a diverse group of businesses, farmers and ranchers, manufacturers, service providers, and technology companies in support of the USMCA. To join the coalition, click here. Over the coming weeks and months, the USMCA Coalition will make the case for expeditious passage of the agreement to members of Congress, and will work to educate employers and members of Congress about the benefits of the new deal. The effort will harness the advocacy strength of a broad...

California's Lieutenant Governor to Focus on Foreign Trade

Friday, March 01, 2019

California's lieutenant governor has a new role promoting the state as an international trading partner. Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis will head a committee tasked with reopening trade offices in foreign countries and promoting the state's trade interests, Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom announced. The new committee is the latest example of California seeking more influence on the global stage during the Trump presidency. California already has a trade office in China, opened under former Gov. Jerry Brown, and Newsom wants to reopen a trade office in Mexico. Kounalakis, a Democrat and former ambassador to Hungary under former President Barack Obama, said she's excited to...

Study: EU Single Largest Foreign Investor in US

Wednesday, February 27, 2019

The European Union, currently a 28-nation bloc, is the single largest foreign investor in the United States, with $2.37 trillion in foreign direct investment, according to a recent study by the EU Delegation to the U.S. The U.S. and the EU enjoy a balanced trade relationship to the benefit of both: $528 billion in U.S. exports of goods and services to the EU in 2017 and a commensurate $629 billion in EU exports of goods and services to the U.S., the study found. This trade and investment relationship generates nearly 7 million jobs for U.S. workers. An online interactive data tool lets users explore...

China to Propose $30 Billion More U.S. Agriculture Purchases

Friday, February 22, 2019

China is proposing that it could buy an additional $30 billion a year of U.S. agricultural products including soybeans, corn and wheat as part of a possible trade deal being negotiated by the two countries, according to people with knowledge of the plan. The offer to buy the extra farm produce would be part of the memoranda of understanding under discussion by U.S. and Chinese negotiators in Washington, according to the people, who asked not to be identified because the plans are confidential. The purchases would be on top of pre-trade war levels and continue for the period covered by the memoranda, they said. U.S. Agriculture...

NAFTA 2.0 Creates Freer, Fairer Economic Growth

Friday, February 22, 2019

The United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) underscores a renewed understating among the USMCA parties on the importance of our mutual trading relationships, everyone agreed yesterday at an international luncheon at the California Chamber of Commerce to celebrate Canada Day in Sacramento. With the support of the Consulates General of Canada of San Francisco and Los Angeles and the Consulate General of Mexico in Sacramento, experts convened at the CalChamber for a thorough update and discussion on the agreement with more than 100 attendees. The Honorable Zaib Shaikh, the new Consul General of Canada in Los Angeles set the tone for the discussion saying...

OC World Trade Week 2019 Presents Export Experts in the Program’s Panel Discussion

Monday, February 04, 2019

Leading Orange County exporters Billy Grenham of Taco Bell, Harvinder Mudahar of Technologent, and Michael Delaney of Worldwide Environmental Products, Inc., will share their experiences in international trade during the Export Success Panel at the Greater Irvine Chamber’s fifth annual Orange County World Trade Week (OCWTW) Breakfast and Forum on Thursday, May 16, 7:30 a.m. – 12 p.m., at the Irvine Marriott, 18000 Von Karman Ave. The Export Success Panel is a perennial favorite, offering attendees insights into the challenges and opportunities for business expansion through exporting. Billy Grenham leads international marketing for Taco Bell out of the Global Headquarters in Irvine. He is...

Global Managing Director of Experian Decision Analytics, Steve Wagner, to Deliver OC World Trade Week Keynote Address

Monday, January 28, 2019

Steve Wagner, global managing director of Experian Decision Analytics, will deliver the keynote address at the Greater Irvine Chamber’s fifth annual Orange County World Trade Week (OCWTW) Breakfast and Forum on Thursday, May 16, 7:30 a.m. – 12 p.m., at the Irvine Marriott, 18000 Von Karman Ave. Wagner was appointed global managing director of Experian Decision Analytics in 2018 and serves as the global business leader for Experian’s analytics, fraud, identity, and decision software businesses. He also serves on the Global Operating Committee of Experian, PLC and as chairman of the Experian social innovation fund, focused on improving the lives of...

Chamber Life Science and Technology Delegation Returning to UK

Tuesday, January 22, 2019

The Greater Irvine Chamber is leading a delegation of City of Irvine officials, business leaders, and life science and technology experts returning to the U.K. The delegates are set to meet with more life science and technology companies that may be exploring expansion into the U.S. and Irvine/Orange County in Southern California specifically. The goal of the mission is to build awareness for Irvine/Orange County and its life science/technology industry strength and identify, connect with, and encourage U.K.-based life science companies to look at Irvine/Orange County when considering expansion into the U.S. This Foreign Direct Investment mission, planned for Feb. 11-15,...

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