App Feature Description
(does not represent entire list as New Features are added regularly)
ESSENTIAL FEATURES
Export Basics & FAQs
This powerful Tool provides a wealth of information on conducting Global Trade.
A Basic Guide To Exporting:
For more than 70 years, A Basic Guide to Exporting has been the resource that businesses have turned to for answers to their questions about how to establish and grow overseas markets for their products and services. Whether your firm is new to exporting or in need of a refresher on the latest ideas and techniques, this comprehensive guide provides the nuts-and-bolts information you need to meet the challenges of the world economy by learning:
• How to identify markets for your company’s products
• How to finance your export transactions
• The best methods of handling orders and shipments
• Sources of free or low-cost export counseling
FAQs on Exporting:
The Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) Feature includes more than 200 commonly asked questions about exporting. The answers provided are from government experts that specialize in unique aspects of trade.
Trade Events
This powerful Tool provides data on events for U.S. businesses interested in selling their products and services overseas. These events include industry conferences, webinars, lectures, and trade missions organized by ITA and other trade agencies including:
• The U.S. Trade and Development Agency
• The State Department
• The Small Business Administration
• More Trade Organizations/Agencies to be added..
Trade Support Forum
First-of-its-kind In-Depth Question and Answer Support Forum for all Global Trade-related Topics. Trade Specialists from the U.S. Department of Commerce along with Experts from the Trade Community can answer questions on the following Topics:
• General Exporting - Documentation, Terminology..
• Export Compliance, Regulations..
• Shipping, Logistics, Cargo Insurance..
• Payment, Financing, Export Credit Insurance..
• Legal - Contracts, IP Protection..
• Trade Policy
• Business Development, Sales, Marketing Distribution..
• Much more..
Essential Trade Tools
This Feature provides Essential Trade-related Tools including:
• List of worldwide Airport Names & Abbreviations
• List of worldwide Ocean & Sea Port Names & Abbreviations
• Time Zones
• US Airport Weather Conditions
• Holidays by Country
• More tools to be added..
Flash Travel Alerts
This Feature provides Travel Alerts issued by the State Department for short-term events the State Department thinks you should know about when planning travel to a country. Examples of reasons for issuing a Travel Alert might include an election season that is bound to have many strikes, demonstrations, or disturbances; a health alert like an outbreak of H1N1; or evidence of an elevated risk of terrorist attacks. When these short-term events are over, the State Department cancels the Travel Alert.
Flash Travel Warnings
This Feature provides Travel Warnings when the State Department wants you to consider very carefully whether you should go to a country at all. Examples of reasons for issuing a Travel Warning might include unstable government, civil war, ongoing intense crime or violence, or frequent terrorist attacks. The State Department want you to know the risks of traveling to these places and to strongly consider not going to them at all. Travel Warnings remain in place until the situation changes; some have been in effect for years.
ADVANCED FEATURES
Market Intelligence (Premium)
This powerful Tool will allow the user to search across all types of Market Intelligence articles.
Market Research Library (Premium)
This powerful Tool provides metadata for country and industry reports that are produced by ITA’s trade experts. ITA commercial officers that are stationed around the world, publish these authoritative reports in conjunction with Foreign Service officers from the State Department.
Top Markets Report (Premium)
This powerful Tool allows exporters to determine their next export market by comparing opportunities across borders. Each report ranks future export opportunities within a particular industry based on a sector-specific methodology. The reports, produced by ITA's trade experts, provide a detailed assessment of the competitiveness landscape within a sector, as well as the opportunities and challenges facing U.S. exporters in key markets.
Trade Leads (Premium)
This powerful Tool provides contract opportunities for U.S. businesses selling their products and services overseas. These leads come from a variety of sources and we continue to expand the number of leads available. Currently trade leads, procurement opportunities, and contract notifications are provided from:
• The State Department’s Business Information Database System (BIDS)
• FedBizOps
• The United Kingdom
• Canada
• The Millennium Challenge Corporation
• Australia
• The United States Trade and Development Agency (USTDA)
Consolidated Screening List (Premium)
This powerful Tool consolidates eleven export screening lists of the Departments of Commerce, State and the Treasury into a single data feed in conducting electronic screens of potential parties to regulated transactions. In the event that a company, entity or person on the list appears to match a party potentially involved in an export transaction, additional due diligence should be conducted before proceeding. There may be a strict export prohibition, requirement for seeking a license application, evaluation of the end-use or user to ensure it does not result in an activity prohibited by any U.S. export regulations, or other restriction.
Tariff Rates (Premium)
This powerful Tool provides data about each country with whom the United States has a Free Trade Agreement (FTA). When the U.S. enters into an FTA with a foreign government, it negotiates lower tariff rates with that government for a wide variety of products. A tariff is a tax that a company must pay a foreign country when shipping a product to that country. This provides information on tariff rates for the following countries: Australia, Bahrain, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Morocco, Nicaragua, Oman, Panama, Peru, Singapore, and South Korea. Products are indicated by their HS-6 code.
Schedule B Code Search (Premium)
This powerful Tools allows Exporters to search & identify the matching Schedule B code for their commodity. Exporters need to know their product’s Schedule B Code for the following reasons:
• To determine applicable import tariff rates and whether a product qualifies for a preferential tariff under a Free Trade Agreement;
• To file the Electronic Export Information in the Automated Export System (AES); and
• To complete shipping documents, such as certificates of origin.
Trade News & Articles (Premium)
This powerful Tool provides in-depth news and articles written by Trade Specialists working in the Federal government. The authors include staff from ITA as well as other Trade Promotion Coordinating Committee (TPCC) agencies such as:
• Export-Import Bank
• Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC)
• U.S. Trade and Development Agency (USTDA)
• Small Business Administration (SBA)
De Minimis & VAT Amount (Premium)
This powerful Tool provides data (for almost 80 countries in that country’s currency) about the De Minimis amount and the Value Added Tax (VAT) amount that products may be subject to when exported to foreign countries. “De Minimis” is the threshold for a product’s value below which no duty or tariff is charged. Furthermore, products below the De Minimis undergo minimal clearance procedures, such as customs and paperwork requirements. Similarly, the value of the exported products must exceed the VAT amount before it is subject to VAT.
Trade Blog (Premium)
Feature-rich Blog on the topic of Global Trade. A Must-Subscribe-To Trade Blog!