World Trade Center-Kansas City News: June 2023

Jun 06, 2023

Category:

A LETTER FROM THE DIRECTOR

Happy June from World Trade Center – Kansas City! June is Pride Month and supporting Kansas City’s LGBTQ+ owned businesses with their international trade needs is important to our mission.

Business that export earn higher revenues, create more jobs, pay better wages, and are less likely to go out of business. During Pride month, it is important that we ensure equity in trade and strive to make resources available, specifically to LGBTQ+ businesses, to empower them to export.

Resources:

As a WTC-KC client, we are able to create personal connections and introductions with our local representatives for organizations like EXIM Bank, U.S. Commercial Service, and the Mid-America LGBT Chamber of Commerce. If you are a LGBTQ+-owned business needing trade assistance, please reach out to us (at any time of year)!

This month, our Spring 2023 Heartland Export Accelerator cohort is graduating from the program. To celebrate the first year of this program, WTC-KC is hosting a Public Showcase of the Fall 2022 and Spring 2023 cohorts. Each company will present their business, their HEA experience, and their global ambitions. Join us on Wednesday, July 12, 2023 from 3:00-5:00 PM at the Plexpod Westport Commons to learn more about the Heartland Export Accelerator, network with international trade professionals, and meet our globally-minded companies. Register here, and contact us here with questions.

Events

ACE Export Compliance Webinar
U.S. Census Bureau
June 6-7
Register here

MWOB: Export Readiness Series
EXIM Bank
June 9
Register here

MWOB: EXIM Celebrates Pride Month
June 14
Register here

Opportunities with Dubai Electricity & Water Authority
U.S. Commercial Service
June 12
Register here

Infosecurity Europe
U.S. Commercial Service & International Trade Administration
June 20-22
Apply to Exhibit

FITMA 2023: International Expo of Technology and Manufacturing
June 20-22
Learn here

How to integrate into the North American Industrial Supply Chain
U.S. Commercial Service
June 29
Register here

Heartland Export Accelerator Public Showcase
WTC-KC
July 12
Register here

Food Expo Pro
Hong Kong Trade Development Council
August 17-26
Register here

2023 Mid-America Trade Summit
University of Missouri
October 25 & 26
Save the Date

Enlit Europe- Opportunity to Exhibit
U.S. Commercial Service
November 28-29
Inquire here

Conference and Exhibitions on International Trade & Foreign Direct Investments for Manufacturing, Services, and Agriculture sectors
Global Expo – India
December 21-31
Register here

Dispatches from DC

Photo of a pile of scattered one dollar bills.

The U.S. is nearing its debt ceiling. Government leaders are scrambling to figure out a solution with opposing factions disagreeing on the best way to proceed. What does this mean for global trade? Experts largely agree that the U.S. defaulting on debt would be disastrous for the global markets. Most of the world’s foreign currency reserves are in U.S. dollars, so a decrease in the value of the U.S. dollar would have rippling effects. Thomson Reuters predicts that “…what is most likely is global economic distress and financial market chaos as the most risk-free asset in the global market suddenly fails.” Additionally, a shift away from the U.S. as the global economy’s leader would lead to instability. A weakened dollar could also provide opportunities for the U.S.’s rivals, such as China. Even uncertainty around the U.S.’s debt plan could cause a weakening on the dollar and hurt global trade. On June 3, 2023, President Biden signed a bill into law that suspends the debt ceiling until January 1, 2025. While the debt ceiling has been avoided for the present moment, it is a problem the U.S. will have to face again in the coming years. Read more about the effects of a U.S default here and learn about the potential solutions to the debt crisis here.