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COMMERCE IN THE NIS
by Linda Nemec

Assistance programs run by the Commerce Department's
International Trade Administration focus on helping U.S.
companies make contacts and do business in the Newly Independent
States (NIS) of the former Soviet Union.  Now is the time to take
advantage of these programs, which are funded primarily by the
U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).   

ABCs

Some of the largest untapped markets in the NIS are outside
Moscow.  Business people hesitate to travel to these regions
because the cities are not well known, they aren t easy to reach,
and it has been almost impossible to "phone home" and otherwise
conduct business from there.  The opening of the American
Business Centers (ABCs) in major cities outside Moscow solves
these problems for U.S. companies.  

ABCs are offices away from home, complete with computers,
telecommunication services, E-MAIL connections, copiers, and
secretarial services, as well as regional market information and
business counseling.  After using the ABCs in Chelyabinsk and
Yekaterinburg, Eddy Van den Branden of Valleylab commented,
"Local ABCs are a dream come true for every businessman who wants
to facilitate an introduction into Russia and the CIS."

In Russia, ABCs are open in the Far East (Khabarovsk and
Vladivostok), the Urals (Yekatarinburg and Chelyabink), Siberia
(Nizhnevartovsk and Novosibirsk), and St. Petersburg.  By mid-
1995, ABCs will open in Volgograd and Nizhny Novgorod.  In the
other NIS countries, ABCs will open in Minsk, Belarus; Kiev,
Ukraine; Tashkent, Uzbekistan; and Almaty, Kazakhstan.

CABNIS

Establishing a market presence in the NIS is critical for doing
business there.  Membership in one of 12 Consortia of American
Business in the NIS (CABNIS) is a low-risk, low-cost way to do
so.  Consortia offices in the NIS provide your company with
tailored export promotion services.  On-site consortia
representatives identify and pursue specific trade opportunities,
and keep you up-to-date with developments in your industry
sector.  Consortia have been formed for telecommunications and
electronics; biotechnology; food industries and agribusiness;
building products; environmental technologies; information
systems; coal-extraction technologies; and semiconductor
equipment and materials.  Regional consortia also serve St.
Petersburg and the Russian Far East.

The Alaska-Russia Company, of Anchorage, Alaska, is a member of
Troika, a consortium that promotes trade between the U.S. and the
Russian Far East and has an office Khabarovsk.  According to
Kathleen Tarr, food export manager for the Alaska-Russia Company,
"The Troika office was instrumental in assisting us with
contacts....it helps a tremendous amount to have someone on-site
over there, who can get firsthand information.  They re our only
on-the-ground contact. 

SABIT

The most common advice on doing business in the NIS is to find
the right partner.  Internships offer a low-cost way to make
contacts, train, and really get to know potential partners.  More
than 185 U.S. companies have formed lasting business
relationships with NIS managers through the U.S. Department of
Commerce s Special American Business Internship Program (SABIT)
since 1990.  These firms have hosted an NIS executive or
scientist for one to six months, gaining valuable insights
without leaving the United States. Travel costs are paid for by
the program, and participating firms receive grants to defray the
costs of providing professional training to interns.

According to Michael Carrol of North American Agriculture, an
Illinois company that has hosted several interns,  the
opportunity of working side-by-side with our personnel in the
United States under the SABIT program probably accomplished as
much as several years of working experience in the NIS. 
 
BISNIS

The main goals of BISNIS are to inform the business community
about U.S. Government programs that promote trade and investment
in the NIS, and to ensure that the vast amount of NIS business
information collected by the U.S. Government is available to the
business public.  Most readers know BISNIS through its
publications--BISNIS Bulletin, BISNIS Search for Partners, and
Commercial Opportunities.  Many are also familiar with the
Flashfax, an automated fax system that makes hundreds of
documents available around the clock.  BISNIS also publishes
Sources of Finance for Trade and Investment in the NIS. 

BISNIS also counsels U.S. companies on trade and investment.  Ten
NIS trade specialists are available for one-on-one consultations
and to answer specific questions.  An overseas network of
employees working at embassies in the NIS, linked via INTERNET,
is just an E-MAIL message away.  BISNIS has several NIS business
databases at its disposal and is in constant touch with U.S.
Government agencies that offer financing.
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