Really Useful Sites for International Trade Professionals, Issue 56 Volume 3 Number 8

[Federation of International Trade Associations]

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Really Useful Sites for International Trade Professionals Issue 56 Volume 3 
Number 8
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April 9, 2003
Issue 56
VOLUME 3 Number 8
 
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 IN THIS ISSUE
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OUR FEATURED COUNTRY SITE -- MALAYSIA
GLOBAL INFORMATION NETWORK FOR SMES
EARTH CALENDAR
CUSTOMS, TARIFFS, IMPORT DUTIES


Here's your latest issue of Really Useful Sites for International Trade 
Professionals. 
This free bi-weekly newsletter reviews useful Web sites from the Web Resources 
database 
at FITA's International Trade/ Import-Export Portal at http://www.fita.org, an 
excellent 
source for trade leads, news, events, and a link library of 5,000+ sites 
related to 
international trade. 

My name is John McDonnell, and for years I've been writing about useful Web 
sites for 
businesspeople, in various publications. Now I've focused on international 
trade, using 
my Web research skills to find sites that are useful for international 
businesspeople, 
and some sites that are just plain fun for anyone.


Here are the sites:


OUR FEATURED COUNTRY SITE -- MALAYSIA
http://www.business-in-malaysia.net/malaysia.htm

I'm not a big fan of reality t.v. shows, but I did watch a little of last 
summer's "Survivor". I liked the setting, which was the Malaysian island of 
Pulau Tiga. Malaysia is an attractive destination not only for reality t.v., 
but also for international trade. This Southeast Asian country of 22 million 
people, is the 11th largest trading partner of the U.S. In the first quarter of 
2001, Malaysian exports to the U.S. totaled U.S.$5.5 billion and imports were 
U.S.$2.7 billion. It's a good country to investigate if you're looking for 
trade opportunities in Asia, and here's an excellent place to start your 
research. 
Business-in-Malaysia.ne <http://www.business-in-malaysia.net/malaysia.htm>t ( 
http://www.business-in-malaysia.net/malaysia.htm ) has links to Malaysian news 
and information, statistics and research, travel tips, advice on business 
etiquette, translations of useful phrases, a glossary of international trade 
terms, and more. This is the Web site of a trade consulting company, but you 
can find plenty of useful information here without becoming a client. 
There are many more links to Malaysia at the FITA site. Go to 
<http://fita.org/webindex/index.html>, click on Regional Resources and 
Multi-Lateral Trading Areas in the left column, then scroll down to Asia and 
click on Malaysia in the drop-down box. Or simply type "Malaysia" in the search 
box at <http://www.fita.org>. 

GLOBAL INFORMATION NETWORK FOR SMES
http://www.gin.sme.ne.jp

Here's one for the little guys. If you have a small or medium-sized business, 
the Global Information Network for SMEs <http://www.gin.sme.ne.jp> ( 
http://www.gin.sme.ne.jp ) is a good site to check out. Createdby Ministers of 
the G7 countries and members of the European Commission, this network has links 
to useful trade information for dozens of countries worldwide. You'll find 
information about local companies, contact numbers for government and local 
business service centers, policy information for investment and financing of 
SMEs, tips on starting up an SME, economic data, news, and research. No matter 
how small your business, you'll increase your odds of trade success with these 
links. 


ANNOUNCING WORLD POINTSSM -- the rewards program that absolutely puts you first
http://www.applyonlinenow.com/us/FU2A-A000000WOI 
<http://xis.xtenit.com/ct.jsp?uz327937Biz52132>
You don't need another credit card - you need a better one! The FITA Platinum 
Plus® Visa® credit card with WorldPointsSM is now available to U.S.-based 
subscribers to Really Useful Sites for International Trade Professionals. The 
FITA WorldPoints Visa card, issued by MBNA America Bank, offers you the chance 
to earn everything from tickets on any major U.S. airline (with no black-out 
dates), car rentals or hotel stays in the U.S., merchandise, even unlimited 
cash rewards. What’s more, you can now take advantage of a 0% Introductory 
Annual Percentage Rate (APR) on all cash advances, including balance transfers, 
good through your first 12 statement closing dates!+ All this with no annual 
fee and unsurpassed benefits, perfect for the international trade professional. 
To learn more about WorldPoints benefits or to apply, click on 
http://www.applyonlinenow.com/us/FU2A-A000000WOI 
<http://xis.xtenit.com/ct.jsp?uz327937Biz52132>  (or copy this address into the 
location/address field of your browser) Apply on-line now! 

+ For rate, fees, features, and benefits associated with the use of the card; 
or to apply, click on http://www.applyonlinenow.com/us/FU2A-A000000WOI 
<http://xis.xtenit.com/ct.jsp?uz327937Biz52132> and refer to the disclosures 
accompanying the online credit card application. 

EARTH CALENDAR
http://www.earthcalendar.net

I'm all for holidays; I think any day that gives us an excuse to celebrate is a 
good thing. There are thousands of holidays worldwide, and you can find a 
listing of them at Earth Calendar <http://www.earthcalendar.net> ( 
http://www.earthcalendar.net ). This handy site lets you search for holidays by 
country, date, and religion, and it's an effective tool for planning your 
business and personal trips (after all, you don't want to schedule a trip 
during a national holiday, when all the businesses will be closed). There's 
also a chart that shows the phases of the moon and eclipses for the year, 
although that may only be of interest to sea captains and moon worshippers. All 
in all, though, this is a worthwhile site.  

CUSTOMS, TARIFFS, IMPORT DUTIES
http://my.tdctrade.com/webdir/directory_header.asp?catid=16

Since a huge part of Hong Kong's economy depends on trade, you'd figure they'd 
know a lot about customs duties for other countries. And you'd be right. The 
Hong Kong Trade Development Council's page of Customs, Tariffs Import Duties 
<http://my.tdctrade.com/webdir/directory_header.asp?catid=16> ( 
<http://my.tdctrade.com/webdir/directory_header.asp?catid=16> ) has links to 
customs information for hundreds of countries worldwide. Here you'll find 
information on documentation, customs clearance time, taxes, fees charges, 
import and export restrictions, contacts, and lots more useful information for 
countries all over the world. 





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Published by Federation of International Trade Associations 
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