Just yesterday I received a call from a businessman looking to outsource a good part of his company’s assembly operation to another country. While I would prefer that the company keep its operations division close to home, I understand the realities of today’s global market. In a world where a company’s success hinges on the slimmest of margins, every penny that a business … [Read more...]
Brazil Joins the Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG). It's About Time.
It's almost everyday now that I get an email or phone call from a Brazilian investor looking to do business in the U.S. (usually in Miami) or a U.S. investor looking to do business in Brazil. It's not exactly a surprise given the enormous trade numbers the two countries are putting up---$100 Billion in 2011 alone. Presently, the rules for entering into an international sales … [Read more...]
Worried About Your Global Supply Chain? Then You Must Check Out Create.org.
For any company concerned about the integrity of their global supply network, there's a great post over at the venerable China Law Blog by Dan Harris. The post, Improving The Global Supply Chain: Create.Org highlights Create.org, “a non-profit organization dedicated to helping companies and their suppliers and business partners reduce counterfeiting, piracy, trade secret theft … [Read more...]
Doing Business in Brazil Just Got Easier (or Less Difficult).
I received an email the other day from someone looking to form a business in Brazil. I told this person that forming a business in Brazil can be a real headache, particularly if you do not have a Brazilian partner. It's a crazy dynamic and I just don't understand it--with all the economic advances Brazil has made in the past decade, it’s hard to see why its bloated … [Read more...]
5 Key Points Every Chinese Investor in the U.S. Must Know.
In the past year or so I've been working with a Chinese industrial manufacturing company looking to tap into the U.S. market. In just a few years, the company has wildly exceeded its expectations. The company’s success can be attributed to zealous commitment to learning. By this, I mean that the company understood that it had to abandon deeply entrenched legal and cultural … [Read more...]
Enterprise Florida’s International Trade Leads Program: A Great Place to Discover International Business Opportunities.
With the Dow reaching an all-time high today, Americans are feeling a lot better about the state of the economy—more so than they have in nearly a decade. This coincides with a recent Gallup poll that found Americans are also feeling better about international trade. According to the excellent International Economic Law and Policy blog, the latest trend can be attributed … [Read more...]
International Licensing: An Alternative to Forming a Foreign Corporation.
I received some feed back in reference to yesterday's post, The 5 Key Factors You Must Consider When Establishing a Foreign Corporation. It seems I left some readers with the impression that forming a foreign corporation was not worth the risk given all the legal issues that must be addressed. While I did not intend to scare anybody who is considering establishing a … [Read more...]
The 5 Key Factors You Must Consider When Establishing a Foreign Corporation.
The other day I received a call from someone looking to form a corporation in Brazil. This person was shocked to learn that Brazil is among the most difficult countries in the world in which to incorporate a business. In fact, according to the World Bank’s annual Doing Business Report, Brazil was ranked no. 121 in ease of starting a business. … [Read more...]
Hey U.S. Corporations–Don't Neglect Your Foreign Subsidiaries!
I recently received an email from a board member of a corporation concerned that one of the company’s foreign subsidiaries was having compliance issues. I immediately interrupted and asked if there were any local bodies on the ground at the company’s foreign subsidiary. I wasn't exactly surprised to learn that there were not. In fact, no one from the U.S. office had visited … [Read more...]
The Cayman Islands: Paradise for Foreign Workers. Not So Much for Tax Dodgers.
There's been a sharp rise in the number of foreign workers in the Cayman Islands. This according to a recent report from Justin Harper of Reuters. Despite increased taxes, the number of foreign workers in the island paradise has gone from 19,927 at the end of 2011 to nearly 21,000 by December 2012. The increase is largely the result of less stringent immigration laws that now … [Read more...]