US pick-up brings opportunities
AS the US emerges from two years of major destabilisation, opportunities are becoming available for Western Australian businesses and exporters, according to Austrade.
Set against the backdrop of the recent US-Australia Free Trade Agreement, Austrade’s senior trade commissioner to Washington and Austrade business development manager, Ed Franklin jnr, told a seminar of 40 local businessmen and women last week why the US business environment was currently very fertile.
Mr Franklin said many events, such as the September 11 terrorist attacks, two wars and large corporate scandals had shaken the US business psyche during the past two years, forcing many to consolidate.
However, at the lower end of the market there was a “huge opening” in the US market.
“Right now a lot of smaller companies are gone – there has been a cleaning of the slate if you like,” Mr Franklin said.
[Businesses] should strike now because I think in a year or two things will be a lot different.”
He also noted that Australians and Australia were well viewed by Americans.
In spite of the up-beat report, however, challenges remain. The size and scale of the market presented a significant challenge, stricter corporate governance and security considerations also required attention.