Two United States ambassadors to Latin American countries and the U.S. Deputy Chief of Mission to Brazil are on tour in a recession-torn U.S. touting the booming Latin American economies to U.S. businesses large and small.
The tour for the diplomatic party of three – U.S. Ambassador to Peru Rose M. Likins, U.S. Ambassador to Chile Alejandro Wolf and U.S. Deputy Mission Chief to Brazil Todd C. Chapman – began this week in Memphis with a luncheon hosted by FedEx Corp. and the Business Council for International Understanding.
The U.S. ambassadors to Colombia and Panama are on a similar tour in other cities.
Both legs are an effort by the Obama administration to increase U.S. exports to Latin America with a target of creating 2 million jobs in the U.S. economy through increased exports.
It’s also further evidence of the internationalization of the U.S. economy at a time when foreign markets have become the next frontier of both the largest corporations and the smaller businesses occupying a single office.
“To see all these planes coming in at the same time from around the world – one coming in from Sao Paolo, Brazil – is really very exciting,” Chapman said the morning after the group got an overnight tour of the FedEx Super Hub. “Every time a plane takes off for an international destination from Memphis, they are creating jobs here in America.”
FedEx and Delta Air Lines Inc., the two major tenants of Memphis International Airport, are a vital part of the export effort, which includes not only goods but also services such as tourism.
While Delta has cut its capacity including regional flights at Memphis International Airport as well as its transatlantic service, it has expanded service to Latin American markets.
“In the decades of the ’90s and the 2000s, a lot of these countries had to get their economic houses in order,” Likins said. “They had to make the big macroeconomic policy changes of responsible fiscal policy and good, open, competitive environments and opening to the world.”
In Peru’s case, the booming economy is driven by mineral commodities.
Wolf cites economic growth in the countries of an average of 6 percent.
“We are all witnessing a boom in these economies, very robust growth … and a growing middle class that is changing consumption habits,” Wolf said.
Middle class growth or its lack of growth is a similar issue in the rebuilding of the U.S. economy.
Chapman points to an estimated 40 million Brazilians who in the last decade have “emerged from poverty” to the middle class.
“They begin to consume in a way that is very different,” Chapman said. “You have a distinct driver to these economies which you didn’t have before, which is the middle class itself. They are building upon good decisions that they have made over a decade to build up their tax base, to promote market economies, to find new export markets as they internationalize their economies.”
In the last year and a half, U.S exports to Brazil expanded 52 percent, according to Chapman, bringing the U.S. trade surplus with Brazil to $15 billion.
In the Latin American economic boom, those markets have become more diverse, making personal relationships important in many cases for U.S. companies.
“You can have situations where you are required to have a partner. You can find situations where it is desirable and smart to have a partner. And you can have a situation where you don’t need a partner at all,” Wolf said. “There’s no cookie-cutter approach anymore. You can’t simply look south and say, ‘They speak Spanish or Portuguese.’ Each market is different.”
Likins said the embassies often play the role of “matchmakers.”
“Latin America – culturally relationships are really important,” she said. “It’s not about a legal transaction. You need to not look at it as a legal transaction. … Latin Americans are looking for partners. They are looking for a long-term relationship.”
“These are three fairly developed markets,” Chapman said, as he pushed trade shows in the countries as a way for U.S. companies to both make contact and get a feel for the market itself. “They have trade shows related to your product. … You can go down and see the entire industry all in one fell swoop.”
Source: www.memphisdailynews.com
The tour for the diplomatic party of three – U.S. Ambassador to Peru Rose M. Likins, U.S. Ambassador to Chile Alejandro Wolf and U.S. Deputy Mission Chief to Brazil Todd C. Chapman – began this week in Memphis with a luncheon hosted by FedEx Corp. and the Business Council for International Understanding.
The U.S. ambassadors to Colombia and Panama are on a similar tour in other cities.
Both legs are an effort by the Obama administration to increase U.S. exports to Latin America with a target of creating 2 million jobs in the U.S. economy through increased exports.
It’s also further evidence of the internationalization of the U.S. economy at a time when foreign markets have become the next frontier of both the largest corporations and the smaller businesses occupying a single office.
“To see all these planes coming in at the same time from around the world – one coming in from Sao Paolo, Brazil – is really very exciting,” Chapman said the morning after the group got an overnight tour of the FedEx Super Hub. “Every time a plane takes off for an international destination from Memphis, they are creating jobs here in America.”
FedEx and Delta Air Lines Inc., the two major tenants of Memphis International Airport, are a vital part of the export effort, which includes not only goods but also services such as tourism.
While Delta has cut its capacity including regional flights at Memphis International Airport as well as its transatlantic service, it has expanded service to Latin American markets.
“In the decades of the ’90s and the 2000s, a lot of these countries had to get their economic houses in order,” Likins said. “They had to make the big macroeconomic policy changes of responsible fiscal policy and good, open, competitive environments and opening to the world.”
In Peru’s case, the booming economy is driven by mineral commodities.
Wolf cites economic growth in the countries of an average of 6 percent.
“We are all witnessing a boom in these economies, very robust growth … and a growing middle class that is changing consumption habits,” Wolf said.
Middle class growth or its lack of growth is a similar issue in the rebuilding of the U.S. economy.
Chapman points to an estimated 40 million Brazilians who in the last decade have “emerged from poverty” to the middle class.
“They begin to consume in a way that is very different,” Chapman said. “You have a distinct driver to these economies which you didn’t have before, which is the middle class itself. They are building upon good decisions that they have made over a decade to build up their tax base, to promote market economies, to find new export markets as they internationalize their economies.”
In the last year and a half, U.S exports to Brazil expanded 52 percent, according to Chapman, bringing the U.S. trade surplus with Brazil to $15 billion.
In the Latin American economic boom, those markets have become more diverse, making personal relationships important in many cases for U.S. companies.
“You can have situations where you are required to have a partner. You can find situations where it is desirable and smart to have a partner. And you can have a situation where you don’t need a partner at all,” Wolf said. “There’s no cookie-cutter approach anymore. You can’t simply look south and say, ‘They speak Spanish or Portuguese.’ Each market is different.”
Likins said the embassies often play the role of “matchmakers.”
“Latin America – culturally relationships are really important,” she said. “It’s not about a legal transaction. You need to not look at it as a legal transaction. … Latin Americans are looking for partners. They are looking for a long-term relationship.”
“These are three fairly developed markets,” Chapman said, as he pushed trade shows in the countries as a way for U.S. companies to both make contact and get a feel for the market itself. “They have trade shows related to your product. … You can go down and see the entire industry all in one fell swoop.”
Source: www.memphisdailynews.com
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