[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 168 (Thursday, August 29, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Pages 55380-55381]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-22017]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration


Secretarial Business Development Mission to Peru and Chile

AGENCY: International Trade Administration, Department of Commerce.

ACTION: Notice to Announce Secretary Evans--Business Development 
Mission to Peru and Chile, December 2-6, 2002.

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SUMMARY: Secretary of Commerce Donald Evans will lead a senior-level 
business development mission to Lima, Peru and Santiago, Chile December 
2-6, 2002. The focus of the mission will be to help U.S. companies 
explore business opportunities in Peru, the Andean Region and Chile. 
The delegation will include approximately 15 U.S.-based senior 
executives of small, medium and large U.S. firms representing, but not 
limited to the following sectors: energy, services, machinery and 
equipment, information and communication technologies. Service exports 
have become an increasingly important part of U.S. trade with Chile and 
Peru with opportunities in areas that support the development of their 
increasingly export-oriented economies.

DATES: Applications should be submitted to the Office of Business 
Liaison by October 2, 2002. Applications received after that date will 
be considered only if space and scheduling constraints permit.

CONTACT: Office of Business Liaison; Room 5062; Department of Commerce; 
Washington, DC 20230; Tel: (202) 482-1360; Fax: (202) 482-4054.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Secretarial Business Development Mission to Peru and Chile December 2-
6, 2002

Mission Statement

I. Description of the Mission

    Secretary of Commerce Donald Evans will lead a senior-level 
business development mission to Lima, Peru and Santiago, Chile.
    The focus of the mission will be to help U.S. companies explore 
business opportunities in Peru, the Andean Region and Chile. The 
delegation will include approximately 15 U.S.-based senior executives 
of small, medium and large U.S. firms representing, but not limited to 
the following sectors: energy, services, machinery and equipment, 
information and communication technologies. Service exports have become 
an increasingly important part of U.S. trade with Chile and Peru with 
opportunities in areas that support the development of their 
increasingly export-oriented economies.

II. Commercial Setting for the Mission

    Peru is an economically stable and growing marketplace. With a 
population of nearly 30 million, an entrepreneurial spirit and a 
democratic tradition, Peru offers both U.S. exporters and investors an 
attractive entry to the entire Andean Community. As Peru seeks economic 
growth within a policy of fiscal prudence, future privatization and 
development of emerging sectors that take advantage of the Andean Trade 
Preference Act are creating opportunities in a number of sectors (see 
above). Transparency in rule-making and customs have been strengthened 
in the past ten years, and Peru is currently negotiating a bilateral 
investment treaty with the United States. Currently, the U.S. is Peru's 
single largest trading partner, accounting for 30% of their imports and 
25% of Peru's exports, with two-way trade totaling nearly $4 billion 
last year.
    Peru is an attractive entry to the rest of the Andean region, 
consisting of Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador and Venezuela. Combined, these 
countries have a total marketplace of 112 million people with a 
combined GDP of 290 billion dollars. With Andean Community 
harmonization continuing in customs rates and policies, as well as a 
continual lowering of internal community tariffs, Peru is well situated 
to take advantage of these benefits.
    Chile is one of the Latin American region's most dynamic and 
promising markets. Its strength and attractiveness lie not in its size 
(population of 15 million people), but in the energy and

[[Page 55381]]

professionalism of its entrepreneurs, the transparency of its 
regulation, and the predictability of its decision-makers. Market-led 
reforms adopted close to 30 years ago and an increasingly diversified 
economy with strong ties to buyers and suppliers in the Americas, 
Europe and Asia have given Chile a wide range of options for further 
growth. Prudent economic policy-making has secured long-term stability. 
Chile is a particularly promising market for high technology and 
capital goods. The U.S. is Chile's largest single supplier (almost 23 
percent of imports) with two-way trade totaling almost $7 billion last 
year.
    The U.S. and Chile are currently working to conclude a bilateral 
free trade agreement that will foster economic growth and create higher 
paying jobs in the United States by reducing and eliminating barriers 
to trade and investment. The agreement will create improved market 
opportunities for U.S. goods and services exports, providing important 
benefits for U.S. workers, farmers, businesses and families. The 
agreement with Chile will also assist U.S. efforts to create 
competition among countries for liberalization in the Western 
Hemisphere, thus furthering our efforts to establish a Free Trade Area 
of the Americas (FTAA).

III. Goals for the Mission

    The mission will further both U.S. commercial policy objectives and 
advance specific business interests. It is intended:
     To assist individual U.S. companies pursue export and 
other new business opportunities in Peru, Chile and the Andean Region, 
by introducing them to key host government decision-making officials 
and to potential business partners;
     To assist potential new-to-market firms evaluate the 
market potential for their products and gain an understanding of how to 
operate successfully in the commercial environment of Peru and Chile;
     To enhance the dialogue between government and industry on 
issues affecting the development of U.S.-Peru and U.S.-Chile commercial 
relations;
     To emphasize the benefits of international trade for 
improving the standard of living and quality of life; and
     To highlight examples of corporate citizenship and active 
involvement by U.S. businesses in the communities where they operate in 
the United States and abroad.

IV. Scenario for the Mission

    The Business Development Mission will provide participants with 
exposure to high-level business and government contacts and an 
understanding of market trends and the commercial environment of Peru 
and Chile. U.S. Embassy officials will provide detailed briefings on 
the economic, commercial and political climates, and participants will 
receive individual counseling on their specific interests from U.S. 
Commercial Service industry specialists.
    Meetings will be arranged as appropriate with senior government 
officials and potential business partners. Representational events also 
will be organized to provide mission participants with opportunities to 
meet Peru and Chile's business and government representatives, as well 
as U.S. business people living and working in Peru and Chile.
    The tentative trip itinerary will be as follows:

December 2nd--Arrive Lima, Peru
December 3rd--One-on-One Business Meetings in Lima
December 4th--One-on-One Business Meetings in Lima, Travel to Santiago, 
Chile
December 5th--One-on-One Business Meetings in Santiago
December 6th--One-on-One Business Meetings in Santiago
December 6th or 7th--Departure for U.S.

V. Criteria for Participant Selection

    The recruitment and selection of private sector participants for 
this mission will be conducted according to the ``Statement of Policy 
Governing Department of Commerce Overseas Trade Missions'' established 
in March 1997 (http://www.ita.doc.gov/doctm/tmpol.html).
    Promotion and recruitment will include, but not be limited to, 
posting on appropriate Department of Commerce web pages, notification 
in the Federal Register, and through distribution of the trade mission 
statement and further information to national and other trade 
associations and trade publications. Approximately 15 companies will be 
selected for the mission. Companies will be selected according to the 
criteria set out below.

Eligibility

    Participating companies must be incorporated in the United States. 
A company is eligible to participate only if the products and/or 
services that it will promote (a) are manufactured or produced in the 
United States; or (b) if manufactured or produced outside the United 
States, are marketed under the name of a U.S. firm and have U.S. 
content representing at least 51 percent of the value of the finished 
good or service.

Selection Criteria

    Companies will be selected for participation in the mission on the 
basis of:
     Consistency of company's goals with the scope and desired 
outcome of the mission as described herein;
     Relevance of a company's business and product line to 
market opportunities in Peru and Chile;
     Seniority of the representative of the designated company;
     Past, present, or prospective international business 
activity;
     Diversity of company size, type, location, demographics, 
and traditional under-representation in business;
     Degree of company's commitment to corporate citizenship.
    An applicant's partisan political activities (including political 
contributions) are irrelevant to the selection process.

VI. Time Frame for Applications

    Applications for the trade mission to Peru and Chile will be made 
available on or about August 21, 2002. The fee to participate in the 
mission will be between $6000-$8000 per company. Expenses for travel, 
lodging, and some meals will be the responsibility of each participant. 
For additional information on the trade mission or to obtain an 
application, contact the Department of Commerce Office of Business 
Liaison at 202-482-1360. Applications should be submitted to the Office 
of Business Liaison by October 2, 2002, in order to ensure sufficient 
time to obtain in-country appointments for applicants selected to 
participate in the mission. Applications received after that date will 
be considered only if space and scheduling constraints permit.
    Contact: Office of Business Liaison, Room 5062, Department of 
Commerce, Washington, DC 20230, Tel: (202) 482-1360, Fax: (202) 482-
4054, http://www.doc.gov/peruchiletrademission.

    Dated: August 22, 2002.
Maria Cino,
Assistant Secretary and Director General.
[FR Doc. 02-22017 Filed 8-28-02; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-FP-P