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In
the Numbers
How much did you budget for transportation? |
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| Where does
business get its fairest day in court? |
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| Case
Studies Been there, done that. Learn from
Case Studies how businesses grow. |
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| FOOD: Changing consumer tastes demand constant
innovation |
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President Lifts U.S. Sanctions Against Libya |
Libya is now fully eligible for USDA
export promotion, export credit guarantees, and export
assistance programs. Libya currently imports $1.2 billion
a year in agricultural products to feed its population
of roughly 5 million – primarily wheat, wheat flour,
corn, rice, vegetable oil, and dairy products. (09/20/04)
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Canada & Mexico: Improving economies on both
sides of U.S. border
by James T. Berger |
Both Mexico and Canada are coming
off less than stellar economic results in 2003, but major
improvements are seen for both economies in 2004 and beyond.
South of the border, after a sluggish first three quarters
of 2003, the Mexican economy showed a surprising 2 percent
year-on-year advance in the 4th quarter, which represented
a 1.2 percent gain compared with the 3rd quarter. This
unexpected 4th quarter advance is expected to provide
momentum for 2004. Over all, the 2003 Mexican economy
pushed ahead by an unimpressive 1.3 percent for the
year, but for 2004, a consensus of economists from leading
banks forecasts GDP growth of 3.2 percent to 4 percent.
10-Year Anniversary for NAFTA
On New Year’s Day, the North American Free Trade
Agreement (NAFTA) marked its 10th anniversary. Thanks
to NAFTA, Mexico tripled its exports to the United States
and Canada, quadrupled foreign investment in Mexican
businesses to $12 billion a year and saw per-capita
income increase 24 percent. In NAFTA’s first few
years, the Mexican economy gained 750,000 jobs.
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| George
A. Cloutier
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How
to Do Business with Uncle Sam
For many entrepreneurs, an impenetrable
bureaucracy and time-consuming
paperwork rule out any thought of bidding for government
contracts.
That need not be the case
As chairman of Partner America, an affiliation between
my small business consultancy and the U.S. Conference
of Mayors, I have participated in more than 75 small business
conferences across the country. At every one, owners are
anxious to work more closely with the government. Yet
when I ask for a show of hands for who has secured funding,
loans, or intangible resources, such as advice, only one
or two go up. |
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Offshore
or not?
Corporate tax
debate fires up over U.S. offshore headquarters.
Several major U.S. companies faced a
public backlash this summer over plans to move company
headquarters to offshore tax havens such as Bermuda
or the Cayman Islands. Patriotism and cries of corporate
welfare played dual roles in the criticism. The
current war against terrorism, the Enron debacle
and financial mismanagement problems of Bermuda-based
companies such as Tyco International put a bad face
on what had been ignored by Congress for several
years.
Now legislation has been introduced in both the
House and Senate to prevent U.S. companies from
setting up offshore headquarters to escape paying
taxes. But U.S. Treasury officials believe a series
of changes to the tax code would solve the problem.
"When we have a tax code that allows companies to
cut their taxes on their U.S. business by nominally
moving their headquarters offshore, then we need
to do something to fix the tax code," stated Treasury
Secretary Paul O’Neill in a U.S Department of the
Treasury press release. |
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