January 27, 2022
The U.S. Department of Commerce’s International Trade Administration invites American companies, trade associations, and national and local minority chambers of commerce members to join the FIRST Commerce Certified Minority Business Focused Trade Mission to Italy, Spain, and Portugal! The Mission will take place from Sunday, May 15 to Saturday, May 21, 2022 and will connect participating U.S. firms and trade associations with pre-screened business prospects in all three countries. There will also be opportunities for networking with local government officials and industry leaders and U.S. companies already doing business in the region.
The Minority Focused Trade Mission team, consisting of CS Europe: Italy, Spain, and Portugal, U.S. Export Assistance Center Arizona, MBDA-Minority Business Development Agency, GDEI-Global Diversity Export Initiative, DIAC-Diversity and Inclusion Advisory Council and the U.S. Department of Commerce Global Teams: EU, Energy, ICT, Environmental Technologies and Safety and Security, are busy collaborating across ITA (International Trade Administration) to bring this event to Western Europe. It has been a marathon race to align up all the components to get approval from the ITA trade mission board, but the official posting of the mission statement was in the Federal Register during the week that celebrated the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. There is quite a lot of chatter and enthusiasm across ITA to host this trade mission, and the promotional outreach from the ITA family has exceeded expectations. We just launched the trade mission website last week and promoted the registration brochure, and we already have quite a few companies register their interest. We will launch the brochure and promotional activity for sponsorship this week and have already received several inquiries about it. This trade mission focuses on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in action to foster economic equity in trade and aligns perfectly with President Biden’s E.O. 13985 to promote economic opportunities to underserved communities. We are excited about the opportunities this trade mission brings and its response to economic inclusion. A big shout-out to MBDA and GDEI for their support and inclusion of this trade mission as a priority event for their organizations.
Targeted sectors include information and communication technology (including cybersecurity, smart cities, artificial intelligence, and cloud computing), energy, environmental technology, and safety and security. This mission is aligned with a key goal of the Biden-Harris Administration to build back better with equity. Although there will be a focus on minority businesses, recruitment and consideration will be given to all export-ready companies that meet the established criteria for participation in the Mission.
This is a great export opportunity not to be missed, but space is limited! For more information on the Mission and how to register, please contact Fernando Jimenez at Fernando.Jimenez@trade.gov and for sponsorship, please contact Tanya Cole Tanya.Cole@trade.gov. We look forward to meeting you in Europe in May!
Fernando Jimenez & Tanya Cole work for the U.S. Department of Commerce –International Trade Administration
