14
Friday, October 4, 1985
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
Giving Israel
(And Michigan)
The Business
BY TEDD SCHNEIDER
Staff Reporter
When more than 200 people
converge on the Southfield Hilton for
a day-long seminar Wednesday, con-
ference organizers hope those in
attendance give Israel the business
— literally.
The local people who take part
in the conference will hear business
leaders and government officials
from Michigan and Israel explain
the benefits of joint ventures be-
tween the Jewish State and the
Wolverine State in the wake of the
United States Free Trade Agreement
with Isreal (FTA), which took effect
Sept. 1.
The symposium, entitled "The
New Free Trade Agreement Between
the United States and Israel: Posit-
ive Implications for Michigan Busi-
ness," is a project of the Metropoli-
tan Detroit branch of the American-
Israel Chamber of Commerce and
Industry, the Michigan Department
of Commerce and the U.S. Com-
merce Department. It is one of 20
such gatherings to be held through-
out the U.S. this year and in early
1986.
Financier Max M. Fisher will
deliver the keynote speech at the
conference luncheon. Others
scheduled to address the gathering
include Dan Halperin, Israel's eco-
nomic minister to the U.S.; Bernard
Kritler, director of the U.S. Com-
merce Department's Israel Informa-
tion Center; Doug Ross, director of
the Michigan Department of Com-
merce; and Michigan Lt. Gov.
Martha Griffiths.
While Israeli officials see the
FTA as a springboard out of their
economic quagmire, conference or-
ganizers are stressing the advan-
area entrepreneurs of Israel's new-
found capability to serve as a gate-
way for products from European
Common Market nations who do not
normally trade with America.
"The trade agreement states
that products originating in other
countries which have 35 percent
value added to them in Israel can
then be exported, duty-free, to the
U.S.," Sherman says. "This will open
up the U.S. market, not only to Is-
rael, but to Third World and small
European countries as well."
The 35 percent value-added
clause will be strictly enforced,
Sherman says. "You won't be able to
use Israel just as a drop-off point.
Clothes that are made in France
larly in high-tech fields," Sherman which
come to Israel can't go to the
explains. "Israel is extremely ad-
duty-free if all Israel does is
vanced in telecommunications, robo- U.S.
an Israeli label on them."
tics, computer hardware and slap In
addition to competitively
software. The Israeli market is full priced
imports,
the FTA will allow
of top-notch items at very, very com-
Michigan companies to sell their
petitive prices."
in Israel without paying
Taking advantage of the FTA, products
tariffs. While the Israeli market has
Michigan firms can import high-tech always
been open to American
equipment from Israel without pay-
the expense involved in
ing the usual tariffs, according to goods,
transport
and taxes has often been a
Chamber Executive Director Shelly
major
stumbling
Jackier. "Duties will be eliminated small businesses. block, especially for
on almost all Israeli goods brought
The Chamber itself should bene-
into this country." That duty-free
status will be reached gradually, in fit from Wednesday's conference as
well. The Chamber's Detroit office,
four stages between now and 1995.
which opened last November, has to
There are some areas, however, this
point concentrated its efforts
which will be exempt from the trade within
the Jewish business commu-
agreement. These include textiles nity,
Jackier
says. "This conference,
and garlic, two commodities pro-
because
of
its
large degree of par-
duced in the U.S. which the Reagan
from outside the Jewish
Administration wants to protect ticipation
community, will hopefully enable us
from foreign competition.
expand our membership and our
Through the conference, Sher- to
outreach effort."
man and Jackier also hope to inform
Many people in the general
Next week's conference
will demonstrate
how local companies
can profit from the
Free Trade Agreement
tages now available to local firms
who wish to transact business with
Israel. Those attending the seminar
will have a leg up on the competi-
tion in terms of taking advantage of
the FTA, according to Jane Sher-
man, chairman of the board of the
Detroit branch of the American-
Israel Chamber. "If you are going to
do business with Israel, I think you
need a good understanding of the
trade agreement. At this stage of the
game, I don't think any of us fully
understand all the implications."
The key to building a successful
international trade relationship is
really no different than the cor-
nerstone of any small business: offer
a product that is in demand, is a
quality item and can be delivered on
time at a competitive price. This,
Sherman feels, is one of the pluses
available to local companies making
use of the trade agreement.
"There are definite advantages
to doing business with Israel, paricu-