Really Useful Sites for International Trade Professionals, Issue 57 Volume 3 Number 9

[Federation of International Trade Associations]

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Really Useful Sites for International Trade Professionals Issue 57 Volume 3 
Number 9
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April 23, 2003
Issue 57
VOLUME 3 Number 9
 
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 IN THIS ISSUE
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OUR FEATURED COUNTRY SITE -- THE NETHERLANDS
DISEASE OUTBREAK NEWS -- SARS
THE TRANSPORTATION DIRECTORY
INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATION FOR STANDARDIZATION (ISO)


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 -- THE NETHERLANDS
http://www.usatrade.gov/website/CCG.nsf/ShowCCG?OpenForm&Country=NETHERLANDS

If I say, "the Netherlands" and you immediately think of tulips, dikes, and 
wooden shoes, think again. This country of 16 million people has a strong 
tradition of international trade going back centuries, and is today one of the 
top dozen trading countries in the world. The Netherlands ranks eighth in 
imports of goods and services from the U.S., making it one of America's biggest 
trading partners. 
If you want to investigate trade opportunities with the Netherlands, a good 
place to look is the U.S. Commercial Service Country Commercial Guide to the 
Netherlands ( 
<http://www.usatrade.gov/website/CCG.nsf/ShowCCG?OpenForm&Country=NETHERLANDS> 
). This site has everything you need to get started: detailed information on 
the country's political environment, economic trends, trade regulations, and 
investment climate, plus a schedule of trade events, business contacts, and 
much more. 
There are many more links to the Netherlands 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 Europe and 
click on Netherlands in the drop- down box. Or simply type "Netherlands" in the 
search box at <http://www.fita.org>.  

DISEASE OUTBREAK NEWS -- SARS
http://www.who.int/csr/don/en/

As I write this, there is breaking news that the cause of Severe Acute 
Respiratory Syndrome, or SARS, has been identified. It's an unfortunate fact 
that the ease of modern air travel has meant people can spread disease around 
the world more rapidly than ever before. If you travel, or if you just want to 
stay updated on the spread of contagious diseases, go to Disease Outbreak News 
<http://www.who.int/csr/don/en/> ( http://www.who.int/csr/don/en/ ). This site, 
created by the World Health Organization, gives the latest news and reports on 
diseases worldwide. Besides breaking news (a lot about SARS), there are reports 
on the response to outbreaks of disease, preparedness for chemical or 
biological warfare, drug resistant strains of disease, profiles of various 
diseases, and much more. 
And here's another site with facts on SARS. Medlineplus 
<http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/severeacuterespiratorysyndrome.html> ( 
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/severeacuterespiratorysyndrome.html ) has a 
whole page of links to news and analysis about the disease.  


THE EUROPEAN BUSINESS DIRECTORY
500,000 companies in 33 countries
http://www.europages.com <http://xis.xtenit.com/ct.jsp?uz327937Biz57522> 
EUROPAGES <http://xis.xtenit.com/ct.jsp?uz327937Biz57522> is a business 
directory listing 500,000 companies selected for their import-export dynamism 
in all business sectors in over 35 European countries. EUROPAGES is an ideal 
tool for finding new clients, suppliers and partners: it is a popular reference 
guide with European purchasing directors. Europages.com 
<http://xis.xtenit.com/ct.jsp?uz327937Biz57522>, your connection to the 
business world ! 
One single ad in EUROPAGES generates an average of 102 business contacts in one 
year. People like Peter from Denmark say, "EUROPAGES is our best investment for 
export." Click here <http://xis.xtenit.com/ct.jsp?uz327937Biz57523> to learn 
about how your company can be featured in EUROPAGES. 

THE TRANSPORTATION DIRECTORY
http://www.transport911.com/

Selling your product is only half the story, when it comes to international 
trade. The rest is getting your product to the buyer, on time and in good 
condition. For that you need the services of a transportation company -- and 
that's where this next site comes in. The Transportation Directory 
<http://www.transport911.com/> ( http://www.transport911.com/ ) has lists of 
companies you need to deal with to get your product from Point A to Point B. 
There are links to air cargo companies, freight brokers, freight forwarders, 
intermodal cartage, and truckers, to name just a few. There are phone and Fax 
numbers, and Web addresses (where available) for each listing.  

INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATION FOR STANDARDIZATION (ISO)
http://www.iso.ch/iso/en/ISOOnline.frontpage

There are thousands, maybe even millions, of credit cards in the world, and yet 
they're all the same size and thickness. My teenage daughter doesn't care about 
this when she's charging her latest budget-busting purchase, but I got curious 
about it recently, so I went to the Web site of the International Organization 
for Standardization (ISO) <http://www.iso.ch/iso/en/ISOOnline.frontpage> ( 
http://www.iso.ch/iso/en/ISOOnline.frontpage ). The ISO is the federation that 
oversees standards for products worldwide (including credit card thickness), to 
"facilitate the international exchange of goods and services". It's a good bet 
that the ISO affects you if you're involved in international trade. This site 
is a good place to find news and information about standardization issues, read 
up on the 13,700 standards covered by ISO, and get standards information 
relevant to your industry in online forums.  





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