U.S. commercial service as global business partner

Jeff Graber, a Senior International Trade Specialist for U.S. Commercial Service (USCS), spoke in Alumni Hall on Tuesday, Mar. 2, about how U.S companies can use the USCS and to make sure that the company in question is able to succeed by understanding the culture of whichever African country they are making a deal in.

Graber said that companies need "to take a little bit of due diligence" when they are planning to take their business to Africa and that USCS helps by setting up the initial meeting with the parties involved. He also said that the companies in the U.S. have to have a 51 percent content in their product or service.

There is also something called the national export initiative, which Graber said is, "a charter to grow approximately two million jobs in the next five years by helping small and medium sized companies export their goods and services overseas." However, this does not only mean it is for factories but also for the service industries as well, helping to develop the growth of these small and medium sized companies.

Graber said that USCS makes detailed reports of companies overseas that are personally visited by the Commercial Service or by local staff members if possible, which is "limited to developing countries where private sector services may not be available," according to the U.S. Commercial Service flyer. 

He said that the USCS has offices across the United States and in about 77 countries in the embassies and consulates.  There are four offices right here in Illinois, which are located in Chicago, Rockford, Peoria and Libertyville.

Graber talked about some common mistakes that companies make, such as not doing simple things like making sure the people the company is dealing with are actually who they say they are.  He said that if people perform a background check or credit check in the U.S., then a company not doing so for a potential business partner does not make sense. 

Another mistake was simply not doing any research on the country in which they wish to do business.

"Their road to success will be much more challenging because they did not look at the market much earlier on," Graber said. He also talked about how things are not always as they appear.  "Be willing to be flexible and adapt," said Graber.