Argyros Proposes Federal-State Trade Effort Abroad
By CHRIS CZIBORR
U.S. Ambassador to Spain George Argyros wants to restart California’s trade efforts abroad, piggybacking on the federal Department of Commerce.
Argyros is looking to tap the Commerce Department’s Commercial Service to start a pilot program in Spain aimed at helping small and midsize California businesses boost exports. The cost to the state would be minimal, he said.
“California is a major export market and has almost as many people as all of Spain,” Argyros said. “It’s an especially opportune time for exporters, since the U.S. is essentially on sale because of the low dollar.”
If the program works, it could be replicated in other countries, Argyros said. California is in need of trade promotion since the state gutted its trade offices and programs last year, he said.
The state Legislature last year dismantled the California Technology, Trade and Commerce Agency after an Orange County Register story found the agency falsely claimed or exaggerated its role in millions of dollars worth of trade deals.
Even if the state agency had been doing actual trade work, it still would’ve been duplicating services offered by the more extensive Commercial Service, according to Argyros.
“There’s no need for duplication,” he said.
Overlap occurs commonly in government because agencies at different levels often don’t talk to each other, said Argyros, who President Bush named as ambassador in 2001 (see related story, page 1).
The Commerce Department already assists California and local exporters. In fact, the Orange County Export Assistance Center in Newport Beach is one of the Commerce Department’s busiest trade offices.
California won’t get a free ride in using the Commercial Service. The program is estimated to cost about $50,000 per office.
Companies using the service would pay much of that, though the state could incur some costs in the program, Argyros said.
But the cost would be tiny compared to the $500,000 per foreign trade office the state was paying with the California Technology, Trade and Commerce Agency, he said. The agency’s entire yearly trade promotion budget was about $6 million.
Argyros and Michael Liikala, counselor for commercial affairs at the U.S. Embassy in Madrid, said they were meeting late last month with Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and state legislators to talk about their plan to expand the Commercial Service’s role in helping state exporters.
The pilot program in Spain would serve as a go-between for smaller companies and also could organize trade shows, according to Argyros. Bigger companies already have the resources needed to make inroads into foreign markets, he said. Many of them already are in Spain.
“All kinds of American companies are in Spain, and you don’t hear about it,” Argyros said. “It’s not as difficult a regulatory environment as in France, for example. Spain is very business-friendly.”
Fullerton-based Beckman Coulter Inc., Santa Ana’s Ingram Micro Inc., Costa Mesa-based Valeant Pharmaceuticals International are among the local companies with operations in Spain.
Argyros said the country has a lot of appeal because it’s a good beachhead for any company that wants to make inroads into the European Union.
The layer of bureaucracy added by the European Union and the costs involved in navigating it can be prohibitive, Argyros said, especially for smaller companies that can’t afford their own lobbyists.
“You have to play the game. Already there are more than 10,000 lobbyists in Brussels,” he said.
Last year, Argyros opened the first permanent U.S. trade office in Madrid. The office has helped U.S. companies and visitors taking part in Madrid trade shows.
Argyros also has promoted the use of BuyUSA, a Web site for Spanish and U.S. companies to partner together.
Spain is a relatively small market for local exporters: OC companies ship about $65 million in goods to Spain a year, according to the Commerce Department.
Mexico is OC’s largest export market at about $2 billion in shipments yearly.
