Chamber Program Aims to Mobilize Broad Business Efforts on International Trade

USCIB’s outreach to chambers of commerce has begun to gain traction, with potentially major implications for business at all levels.

Aiming to engage broader segments of the export community, USCIB last year launched the USCIB Associates Program, which seeks to marry the resources of chambers at the state, regional and municipal level with USCIB’s global business network.

A core group of state and metro chambers have coalesced into a “leadership cabinet” to help develop, direct and market the Associates Program (see sidebar). Through the efforts of chairman Robert Recker (Orlando Regional Chamber of Commerce) and founding member Floyd Warner (Pennsylvania Chamber of Business & Industry), a number of top-tier chamber leaders have been recruited.

Robert Recker (right) of the Greater Orlando Chamber of Commerce, leads USCIB’s chamber-outreach efforts. He is pictured here with Kiat Sittheeamon, chair of ICC Thailand, at last September’s World Chambers Congress.

A cornerstone of the program is the World Chambers Federation (WCF), a specialized division of ICC that serves as a forum for chambers of commerce worldwide. ICC’s most recent World Chambers Congress, last September in Quebec City, attracted a respectable (if not overwhelming) number of U.S. participants.

“Among chambers, USCIB is a well-kept secret,” said Mr. Recker, who serves on WCF’s steering committee. “We aim to change that by giving chambers and their members access to a broad range of USCIB services, and by leveraging the critical role chambers play in promoting international business at the state and local level.”

The leadership cabinet, which plans to hold quarterly meetings (largely by conference call, given the variety of regions represented), will provide input and direction to WCF, participate in high-level briefings, craft future World Chambers Congresses and help in the development of new services for chambers and their export-oriented members.

“This is an impressive group of organizations and people,” observed Peter Robinson, USCIB’s chief operating officer. “We hope they will serve as valuable channels for spreading the word about such USCIB services as ATA Carnet and ICC arbitration. We also expect to partner with them in organizing events and, if needed, influencing state legislation and policy on things like trade or privacy.”

Indeed, at the leadership cabinet’s most recent meeting on March 1, chamber leaders voiced strong concern over a wave of state legislation on outsourcing. USCIB will work to arm chambers to argue forcefully for the benefits of trade and open markets, and to guard against legislative overreaction that might unreasonably handicap business or cause trade frictions.

The program’s benefits are diverse. USCIB Associates gain access to exclusive information on strategy and the economy, along with valuable services from USCIB and our global network of business organizations. Chambers of commerce get direct membership in the World Chambers Federation.

Central to the USCIB Associates Program is eTraderoom, a low-cost, Web-based tool for managing the import-export process. Groups that join can provide direct access to this valuable subscription service to their members, deriving revenues that can more than cover the cost of joining.

Because of the WCF connection, the USCIB Associates Program is being marketed mainly to chambers, but any membership-based group at the state or local level can apply to join. Dues for the program are far lower than standard USCIB membership.