USEAC Strengths

I feel that our biggest strengths at USEAC is communication. Communication with each other, the clients, embassies, consulates, and foreign business owners. Without communication our entire department would cease to exist. Communication, especially in this situation is important. Our clients rely on us to have the correct information about trade stats, as well as putting them in contact with correct foreign officials. This is extremely important, as all US businesses interested in exporting need to comply with the export laws and regulations, not only for our country, but the country they are doing business with. Just today I received an email about a US company not following the regulations and compliance, they illegally traded and have since been hit with a "small" $45,000 fine! If they continue to do business illegally they can have their trade rights suspended for at minimum year, face jail time, or be forced to close!

Pretty steep penalties. Alas, do not attempt to mess with the US government! :)

Another strength of USEAC, is that we are usually the first stop for the businesses. Trading goods and services with foreign countries, especially if you have never in the past, is a rather daunting experience. We are here to provide any information to assist the client in making the transaction as smooth as possible. So if all they are wanting is a quick questions answered, or they require a full one on one sit down explaining the process step by step, we are there to help.

Would I run a similar organization any different? I don't think so. Communication with clients is what I feel makes our organization great and is something I would do regardless. If I had to change anything,  it would be simplifying the computer programs we use. They are not user friendly at all and are extremely time consuming and tedious. by making them easier to navigate/search/perform data entry, we can increase productivity immensely. This in turn would allow for us to assist more clients and establish a more efficient rate of response.