Learn about the Italian Market Video

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Learn about the Italian Market

Female: What do you think about when you think about Italy? Well, I think about great pasta, romantic scenery and wonderful music. But you might want to start thinking about business too. You see the United States foreign commercial service agency offers assistance to small businesses in the US who want to do business overseas in 77 different countries, and one of those is Italy. Recently I was able to meet with Valentina Masotti, she’s a commercial assistant in Milan Italy and she told me how easy they make it. How important is the Italian market to the United States? Valentina Masotti: Italy is an excellent market for the United State, last year the US export to Italy topped the $15 billion and we can consider that the all time record. Milan is one of the most important city in the world for the trade fairs and best part aspect for American companies of the environmental energy, medical and pharmaceutical products, aerospace and defense, travel and tourist and also consumer goods. In a few weeks, we will have a very important trade show in the pet products and we will have a huge pavilion with 27 US exhibitors. Female: So, how do you help US small businesses enter the Italian market? Valentina Masotti: We focus on small and medium-size US exports. We are looking for new distributors and local partners. We use our network of contacts that we have identified the most qualified local partners and agent. Female: So, you help US companies match up with an Italian company? Valentina Masotti: Absolutely yes. We help them identify their most qualified local partners and distributor and agent, and to do business in Italy of course. Female: How do you help companies from the US meet the Italian and EU regulations? Valentina Masotti: We have specialist, we have internal trade specialist that are in touch with the government bodies responsible for the regulation pertaining to the local industry sectors. But we have an office in Brussels in Belgium and the trade specialist will help assist the US companies with the issues as well. The best way to start understand the EU regulation is to contact one of our office located here in the United States and our specialist with coordinate all their question and they will provide all the information. Female: So, the trade specialist is also going to help US companies understand special taxes and things. Valentina Masotti: Absolutely yes, they have the knowledge and the expertise to help US exporters in the different sector. Each specialist is focus on specific industry sector and they have a very good expertise on the de facto and to meet regulation and taxes and everything. Female: You mentioned that Milan is a city with a lot of trade fairs. If a small business wants to participate one of those how can you help them? Valentina Masotti: We organize US pavilion at the major important trade fairs. Participating in event overseas can be a challenge for smaller business because you don’t know the language you don’t know people you actually can be with. So we make it simple. We negotiate a very good price with the show organizer and we create the US pavilions. So when the US exhibitors are there we will have two of the key booth with the locals the participation fee. It will have the 10 key booths with the logo, the furniture and our local staff will be there to assist the US exhibitors during the trade fair. And we also assist for the hotel accommodation and other logistic. The value that we organize match making appointments with the US companies scheduled in advance. Female: Very good so you do make it easy for them. Valentina Masotti: Yeah we make it easy and very simple. They just have to come and to enjoy their stay in the trade shows. Female: So, you were here and you're actually visiting some businesses here in the US in different cities. Tell me about the experience, what is that been like? Valentina Masotti: It has been very successful. I have met a lot of companies. I participate also with a tradeshow here in Chicago, the international house where the show, so it has been very exciting and thrilling. I have been to Chicago, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, now I am in Saint Louis, my last stop will be New York. So I met the different companies in the Midwest, the area are different reality but very absolutely exciting. Female: If a small business in a US city would like to get in touch with you how do they go about doing that? Valentina Masotti: The best way to do is to approach one of our offices. We have the US commercial export assistance center they are located all over the United States. They can go through them and the other source will be to visit our website by usa.gov. It’s full of very useful information. There is our latest list of the services we provide and our contact list. But the best way is to approach an office in the US commercial service export assistance center. Female: Valentina, you're actually base in Milan Italy but you have offices in other parts of Italy. Valentina Masotti: Yeah in Flores and one at the US embassy in Rome. We have actually three offices in Italy. Female: I have one more question for you. Explain to me what happens in a gold key appointment program. Valentina Masotti: The US companies provide us a background about their firm, their products and the main objectives that they want to reach into the Italian market. We usually have a conference call with the American company to discuss it. Then the American company will send us literature, some brochure or samples that depend on the sector they are dealing with. And we add this material with the cover letter written in Italian and we send it to pre-screening list of potential buyer, sales agent and distributors. After few weeks we contact the game wish list to see if they would be interested in having a meeting to meet the company. We schedule the meetings and the American companies come to Italy and we accompany them to the meeting and we follow up with the best prospect if they found it. So we can discuss face to face with the possible cooperation and collaboration. Female: Wonderful. Well, I appreciate you being here and you're doing such good work we appreciate that very much. Valentina Masotti: Thank you very much for your time.

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Female: What do you think about when you think about Italy? Well, I think about great pasta, romantic scenery and wonderful music. But you might want to start thinking about business too.

You see the United States foreign commercial service agency offers assistance to small businesses in the US who want to do business overseas in 77 different countries, and one of those is Italy. Recently I was able to meet with Valentina Masotti, she’s a commercial assistant in Milan Italy and she told me how easy they make it.

How important is the Italian market to the United States?

Valentina Masotti: Italy is an excellent market for the United State, last year the US export to Italy topped the $15 billion and we can consider that the all time record. Milan is one of the most important city in the world for the trade fairs and best part aspect for American companies of the environmental energy, medical and pharmaceutical products, aerospace and defense, travel and tourist and also consumer goods.

In a few weeks, we will have a very important trade show in the pet products and we will have a huge pavilion with 27 US exhibitors.

Female: So, how do you help US small businesses enter the Italian market?

Valentina Masotti: We focus on small and medium-size US exports. We are looking for new distributors and local partners. We use our network of contacts that we have identified the most qualified local partners and agent.

Female: So, you help US companies match up with an Italian company?

Valentina Masotti: Absolutely yes. We help them identify their most qualified local partners and distributor and agent, and to do business in Italy of course.

Female: How do you help companies from the US meet the Italian and EU regulations?

Valentina Masotti: We have specialist, we have internal trade specialist that are in touch with the government bodies responsible for the regulation pertaining to the local industry sectors. But we have an office in Brussels in Belgium and the trade specialist will help assist the US companies with the issues as well.

The best way to start understand the EU regulation is to contact one of our office located here in the United States and our specialist with coordinate all their question and they will provide all the information.

Female: So, the trade specialist is also going to help US companies understand special taxes and things.

Valentina Masotti: Absolutely yes, they have the knowledge and the expertise to help US exporters in the different sector. Each specialist is focus on specific industry sector and they have a very good expertise on the de facto and to meet regulation and taxes and everything.

Female: You mentioned that Milan is a city with a lot of trade fairs. If a small business wants to participate one of those how can you help them?

Valentina Masotti: We organize US pavilion at the major important trade fairs. Participating in event overseas can be a challenge for smaller business because you don’t know the language you don’t know people you actually can be with. So we make it simple. We negotiate a very good price with the show organizer and we create the US pavilions. So when the US exhibitors are there we will have two of the key booth with the locals the participation fee. It will have the 10 key booths with the logo, the furniture and our local staff will be there to assist the US exhibitors during the trade fair. And we also assist for the hotel accommodation and other logistic.

The value that we organize match making appointments with the US companies scheduled in advance.

Female: Very good so you do make it easy for them.

Valentina Masotti: Yeah we make it easy and very simple. They just have to come and to enjoy their stay in the trade shows.

Female: So, you were here and you're actually visiting some businesses here in the US in different cities. Tell me about the experience, what is that been like?

Valentina Masotti: It has been very successful. I have met a lot of companies. I participate also with a tradeshow here in Chicago, the international house where the show, so it has been very exciting and thrilling.

I have been to Chicago, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, now I am in Saint Louis, my last stop will be New York. So I met the different companies in the Midwest, the area are different reality but very absolutely exciting.

Female: If a small business in a US city would like to get in touch with you how do they go about doing that?

Valentina Masotti: The best way to do is to approach one of our offices. We have the US commercial export assistance center they are located all over the United States. They can go through them and the other source will be to visit our website by usa.gov. It’s full of very useful information. There is our latest list of the services we provide and our contact list. But the best way is to approach an office in the US commercial service export assistance center.

Female: Valentina, you're actually base in Milan Italy but you have offices in other parts of Italy.

Valentina Masotti: Yeah in Flores and one at the US embassy in Rome. We have actually three offices in Italy.

Female: I have one more question for you. Explain to me what happens in a gold key appointment program.

Valentina Masotti: The US companies provide us a background about their firm, their products and the main objectives that they want to reach into the Italian market. We usually have a conference call with the American company to discuss it. Then the American company will send us literature, some brochure or samples that depend on the sector they are dealing with. And we add this material with the cover letter written in Italian and we send it to pre-screening list of potential buyer, sales agent and distributors.

After few weeks we contact the game wish list to see if they would be interested in having a meeting to meet the company. We schedule the meetings and the American companies come to Italy and we accompany them to the meeting and we follow up with the best prospect if they found it. So we can discuss face to face with the possible cooperation and collaboration.

Female: Wonderful. Well, I appreciate you being here and you're doing such good work we appreciate that very much.

Valentina Masotti: Thank you very much for your time.

Transcription by: Scribe4you Transcription Services