Expo highlights “made in U.S.A.”

This morning during brief ceremonies at the Princess Hotel, the fourth annual Made in the U.S.A. Expo was launched by officials of the United States Embassy in Belize. According to President of the American Chamber of Commerce of Belize, Maria Elena Sylvestre, the event provides an opportunity for local importers to showcase the American goods and services available in the country.

Maria Elena Sylvestre, Pres., AmCham Belize
?You will see here in this show that there?you have the people from Kraft, Procter and Gamble, those are products that originated in the U.S., yes, maybe they are made in other countries now, but the investment, the quality, the standards are U.S. That is the idea. And if you look at our business, Lauren Duty Free, we are showcasing the products made in the U.S., fragrances, Calvin Klein, Tommy Hilfiger, Estee Lauder, Clinque those are dyed in the wool U.S. products of the highest quality. And then you have the services, the interconnectivity, the airlines, all of this is what the United States trading is all about in respect to Belize.?

For more information on the Made in the U.S.A. Expo, you can visit the American Chamber of Commerce of Belize website at amchambelize.org.

The Made in the U.S.A. Expo also highlights the fact that the States is Belize’s largest trading partner, with an estimated forty percent of all goods and services imported to the country coming from that northern neighbour. This morning, Minister of Foreign Trade Godfrey Smith challenged local business people to find new channels of cooperation between the two countries.

Godfrey Smith, Minister of Foreign Trade
?Obviously we import from the U.S. than we export and it?s impossible to close the gap, but I think there are opportunities that could put us in a better position, through for instance the mechanism of joint ventures with U.S. companies. I think entrepreneurs have to be more creative and aggressive and by linking up with business persons from bigger companies, from bigger countries, they bring new technology, they bring new methodologies, they bring innovation which helps you to expand and grow. That?s one of the things I think will come from the partial scope agreement we are currently engaged with in Guatemala. I think there will be a lot of opportunities not only for us to get products into Guatemala and vice-a-versa, but to link with bigger countries and work with them to then to be able to access bigger markets. That?s the whole idea behind joint venturing. ?

According to Smith, while Belize is not a signatory to the recently launched free trade agreement between Central America and the U.S.A., the resulting increased atmosphere of competition in the region will be closely monitored.