TRADE MIAMI DADE JANUARY 2019

MESSAGE FROM THE CHAIR Welcome to Trade Miami-Dade, the newsletter highlighting the activities of the  International Trade Consortium (ITC) Board of Directors and the Office of Economic Development and International Trade (OEDIT) of Miami-Dade County. As the Chair of the ITC, I have the responsibility of engaging our local partners and making new commercial connections around the world. The advantages of using Miami-Dade County and its superb international trade resources for moving product to and from anywhere in the world are formidable. Our message is clear: come trade with us, and together we can make Miami-Dade prosper. We hope you enjoy Trade Miami-Dade, and that you will join us in promoting Miami-Dade County as the Global Gateway .

International Trade Consortium Chair, Commissioner Jose “Pepe" Diaz.

25 ROMANIAN COMPANIES VISIT MIAMI-DADE

A delegation of 25 Romanian companies visited Miami-Dade County November 29 and he 30, 2018. The delegation was organized by Ilan Laufer, former Minister of Business, Commerce and Entrepreneurship of Romania and President of Smart Start USA, a non-profit that helps Romanian companies enter the US market. The delegation was hosted locally by Anda Malescu, president of the Romanian-American Chamber of Commerce of Florida (RACC), Maria Dreyfus-Ulvert from the County's Office of Economic Development and International Trade (OEDIT) and Liane Ventura from GMCC.   Their visit coincided with the opening of a permanent Romanian Consulate led by the Honorable Catalin Ghenea, Consul General of Romania in Miami, the celebration of the National Day of Romania and 100 years since the Great Union, and the launching of the Romanian-American Chamber of Commerce of Florida (RACC). The visiting delegation included companies in the following sectors: IT, including Cybersecurity, Banking, Construction, Manufacturing, Tourism and Renewable Energy.  During their two-day visit, The Romanian delegation had the opportunity to explore business opportunities in South Florida, and Miami’s role as a global gateway to the Latin American market. On the first day, GMCC’s President and CEO, Alfred Sanchez, welcome the delegation to South Florida and provided an overview of the Chamber’s role. The business delegation also discovered the many opportunities available thru presentations given by various economic development agencies such as Joe Kulenovic from Enterprise Florida, Maria Dreyfus-Ulvert from OEDIT, Mario Sacasa from the Miami-Dade Beacon Council, Ilona Vega and Niki Mangan, from Downtown Development Authority and Adam Kravitz from Kravitz and Co. Following the presentations Gisela Marti and Judith Padron from the Greater Miami Convention and Visitors Bureau hosted a working lunch for the delegation and briefed them about GMCVB. In the afternoon, the delegation toured Miami-Dade College new Cybersecurity Center of the Americas. The following day, the delegation had an opportunity met with representatives of our top economic development agencies, Jimmy Nares from Miami International Airport (MIA), and Eric Olafson from PortMiami. Additionally, delegates met with Ivan Barrios from World Trade Center Miami and Silvia Clarke from Emerge Americas.

Left: Miami-Dade County staff presents a Proclamation to the new Consul General of Romania in Miami, the Hon. Catalin Ghenea on November 29 th. Right: the delegation visits the Miami Dade College Cyber Security Center

Minister of Foreign Affairs from Chile, the Honorable Roberto Ampuero and Mr. J orge O'Ryan Schütz,. director of ProChile

CHILEAN MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS, THE HONORABLE ROBERTO AMPUERTO, MEETS WITH MIAMI-DADE COUNTY MAYOR CARLOS A. GIMENEZ The Minister of Foreign Affairs from Chile, the Honorable Roberto Ampuero met with Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos A. Gimenez on December 3, 2018. During the meeting Mr. Ampuero extended an invitation for Mayor Gimenez to visit Chile in 2019. During the meeting, Jorge O’Ryan, ProChile’s CEO stated that the Minister’s visit coincided with the launching of the first Chile Innovation Summit at Lab Miami on December 4. This event was designed to promote the internationalization of Chilean businesses and services, linking them with a strategic market like the United States using Miami as its base. At the event, the Minister and the Chilean Ambassador to the United States announced a new soft landing program for Chilean companies establishing a US footprint in Miami. Present at the meeting were: Mr. Luis Salinas, consul general of Chile in Miami and the new trade commissioner of ProChile, Mr. German Rocca. At the summit, OEDIT staff met with the president of the Latin American Entrepreneurs Association to discuss future collaboration.

CHAIRMAN DIAZ WELCOMES FIESP DIRECTOR TO MIAMI-DADE

ITC Chair Commissioner Jose Pepe Diaz greeted Thomaz Zanotto, head director, Department of Trade and Foreign Affairs of the Federation of Industries of the State of Sao Paulo (DEREX-FIESP) on November 14, 2018. The two met back in November 2014, during Miami-Dade County’s Trade Mission to Sao Paulo, Brazil led by Chairman Diaz. During the meeting which was attended by Leland Salomon, RER deputy director of economic development, Maria Dreyfus-Ulvert, OEDIT’s trade specialist and Paulo Paiani, from the Brazilian Consulate, Mr. Zanotto explained that one of the objectives of his trip was to explore the possibility of establishing a Brazilian Studies Center in Miami. He also added that his other priority was to explore trade synergies between Brazil and Miami-Dade given the strong trade ties that exist. Brazil is South Florida’s top trading partner with total bilateral trade of $15 billion. As suggested by OEDIT, Mr. Zanotto also participated as a panelist at Florida Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association (FCBF) Annual Conference of the Americas held in Miami.   Thomaz Zanotto, Diaz and Salomon.

CYBERTECH FOUNDER VISITS MIAMI-DADE COUNTY Miami-Dade Deputy Mayor Jack Osterholt, Amir Rapaport , Mayor Carlos Gimenez, Israel’s Consul General, Lior Haiat and consulate staff. Amir Rapaport founder & editor-in-chief of Cybertech and Israel Defense visited Miami-Dade County. Cybertech conferences and exhibitions in Tel Aviv, have attracted 15,000 attendees and is considered the city's largest summit. and have created an international dialogue for leaders in the field and industry. Miami-Dade is an ideal location for Cybertech due to our cyber eco-system, industry, academia and local government when it comes to cybersecurity, protection and innovation . Officials are discussing the possibility of brining Cybertech Miami-Dade County.

Miami-Dade Commission Chair Esteban L.  Bovo , Jr. addressing Going Global participants.

COUNTY COMMISSION CHAIR HOSTS GOING GLOBAL IN DISTRICT 13 Miami-Dade Commission Chairman Esteban L. Bovo hosted the eighth Going Global import/export workshop in District 13 on October 11. Those in attendance learned about getting export/import ready, strategies for global expansion, regulations and common mistakes to avoid, and obtaining different types of trade financing. Chairman Bovo stressed the importance of international trade and its benefits to our local economy. Since the beginning of the workshop series last year, more than 300 attendees of diverse backgrounds have gained practical resources from a broad group of industry experts.

SHANDONG PROVINCE TOURISM ROADSHOW Shandong,located in eastern China, is the 2nd largest province (in terms of population) with near 100 million residents. It has a fast growing economy and its tourism resources are rich and diverse. The birthplace of Confucius (a founding father of Chinese civilization) is located in Qufu City, Shandong Province, and it attracts a large number of domestic and international visitors each year.    Shandong has enjoyed excellent connections with South Florida, as Qingdao, the main city in Shandong Province, has established cooperative agreement with Miami-Dade County as a result of our Business Development Mission in March 2018. There have been many educational exchanges between Shandong and Miami in recent years. More than 200 students from Miami Dade College have visited Confucius's birthplace in Shandong when they participated in study abroad programs in China which are supported by the Confucius Institute (CI) at MDC.     The October 17 Shandong Tourism Roadshow provided an excellent opportunity for Miami tour/travel professionals to learn about Shandong tourism and culture.   MISSION PARTICIPANTS FROM MARTINIQUE & NIGERIA   Eleven participants from Nigeria and Martinique visited Miami-Dade County from October 13 - 20, 2018. The in-bound mission was supported by Enterprise Florida Inc., and the GMCVB. Mission participants met with representatives of the GMCVB and attended a one-day “International Trade Certification Course,” organized by MDC's North Campus. The delegation also attended the 4th Annual Florida International Trade & Cultural EXPO (FITCE) in Fort Lauderdale and the 36th Annual MEDWeek Conference in Downtown Miami. The delegation met with Florida businesses in one-to-business matchmaking meetings during the MEDWeek Conference.   SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION HOSTS OPEN HOUSE

On November 8 th the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) held an open house at their new Miami offices located at 51 S.W. First Avenue, where local businesses, economic development agencies and chambers heard from attorney and regional administrator for the SBA Region IV, Ashley Bell. Regional Administrator Bell discussed available funding opportunities, in the 8(a) Business Development program in which the Federal Government has a yearly goal of awarding a minimum of 5% of all federal contract dollars to small disadvantaged businesses. Bell announced the appointment of a district director for the South Florida District Office Victoria Guerrero.

L-R: Victoria Guerrero, district director, South      Florida District Office; Elizabeth A. Moss, marketing & outreach manager, OEDIT                 Ashley Bell, Esq., regional administrator, Region IV.

Victoria Guerrero delivers brief presentation to business owners, EDOs and chambers.

EU INVESTMENT AND ECONOMIC FORECAST DISCUSSION HOSTED AT BEACON COUNCIL OFFICES

Miami-Dade County Beacon Council President Michael  A.  Finney w elcomes EU Minister Counsellor Moreno Bertoldi,

A discussion and luncheon on investment and economic forecast in the EU was hosted at Beacon Council offices with the assistance of the OEDIT. Attorneys, realtors, economic development representatives, and business leaders heard from Minister Counsellor Moreno Bertoldi, special advisor to the Ambassador - Head of Economic and Financial Section and Kristian Orsini, counsellor for the economic and financial affairs section for the Delegation of the European Union to the United States.   The topics and Q&A conversation focused EU’s GDP growth forecast, economic risks, labor market and possible economic effects of Brexit.

50 TURKISH BUSINESS DELEGATES VISIT MIAMI-DADE'S AVIATION SECTOR

A delegation of 50 businessmen from Turkey’s aviation sector visited Miami-Dade from November 12 to 13 2018. The group which was organized by the Bursa Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Bursa Aerospace and Defense Cluster was led by Dr. Mustafa Hatipoglu, president of the Bursa Aerospace and Defense Cluster (BASDEC). At the request of the Turkish Trade Office, the delegation was briefed about Miami-Dade’s role as a global gateway by OEDIT's Maria Dreyfus-Ulvert and the aviation sector by James C. Kohnstamm, vice president, Miami-Dade Beacon Council. The delegation was also greeted by the Honorable Burc Ceylan, Consul General of Turkey in Miami and Murat Yarat, Turkey’s new commercial attaché.