The US approves a $1.2 trillion Infrastructure Plan, creating huge opportunities for international companies

The US approves a $1.2 trillion Infrastructure Plan, creating huge opportunities for international companies

Government Contracts
After eight months of negotiation in the US Congress, finally the House of Representatives approved late on Friday the 5th the “Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act”. With 228 votes in favor and 206 against, the decision had the support of most members of the Democratic Party (all its representatives except 6 voted in favor) and the rejection of the majority of the Republican Party, although 13 of its representatives also gave their approval. Given that the law had already been approved by the Upper House or Senate in August by a wide majority (69-30), it only awaits the presidential signature to become effective. This is a cornerstone of Biden's legislative agenda. It is an essential element of the “Build Back Better” plan, one of the pillars of his electoral program.…
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How to win contracts from the world’s largest client: the US Government

How to win contracts from the world’s largest client: the US Government

Government Contracts
Introduction The federal government of the United States is the largest customer in the world. According to USA Spending, the budget for fiscal year 2021, out of a total of 8.5 trillion dollars, includes 832 billion for services and supplies, as well as 165 billion for asset purchases. On the other hand, states and local governments (counties and cities) manage budgets totaling more than 4 trillion dollars. International companies often ignore or avoid the US government market because they incorrectly understand that it is closed to them or is very difficult to access. If they do, they may miss out on great opportunities. Of the top 100 companies that win contracts with the US government, about 35 are headquartered in other countries. As an example, BAE Systems, a British aerospace…
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Important agreement between the US and several European countries to eliminate certain tariffs linked to the “Google tax”

Important agreement between the US and several European countries to eliminate certain tariffs linked to the “Google tax”

International Trade
On October 21, the United States signed an important agreement with Spain, Austria, France, Italy and the United Kingdom to eliminate certain taxes and tariffs, according to statement from the US Trade Representative.  The agreement comes after these countries agreed to join the global pact promoted by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) to set a minimum global tax of 15% on the profits of companies with annual revenues of more than 750 million euros. Thanks to this agreement, the United States will not impose the tariffs on products from those countries that had been applied in retaliation for taxes applied in those countries on certain digital services, which some media have called the "Google tax". The US had announced at the beginning of June the imposition of an…
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End of US travel ban for vaccinated passengers

End of US travel ban for vaccinated passengers

Blog
The White House announced on September 20th that the travel bans to the United States, which we have reported on previous articles in our blog on June 2020 and July 2021, will be eliminated "at the beginning of November" for vaccinated travelers. These bans were progressively imposed by the Trump Administration between January and May 2020 and have had an immense impact on the activities of international companies and executives with interests in the country. The head of the White House COVID-19 Response Team, Jeff Zients, said foreign travelers must show proof of vaccination and a negative COVID-19 test (made three days before boarding the plane) upon entering the country. Zients said the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) will determine which vaccines will be accepted. These are long-awaited…
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Biotech: The American El Dorado

Biotech: The American El Dorado

Business
By Juan Rivera-Mata, Ph. D. Markentry USA Partner. Pfizer in the first 6 months of 2021 obtained US $1,330 million in profits (+62% compared to the first half of 2020). This was mainly due to the sale of more than 1 billion COVID-19 vaccines. But the discovery of the vaccine came from BioNTech, a German company of 2 Turkish researchers. In the same period, BioNtech got 2,800 million euros in profit, while in the first 6 months of 2020 it had losses of 141.7 million euros; it was the first time they have had a profit. With the current contracts and the expected recommendation of a third booster dose, BioNtech will probably end 2021 as one of the world's leading pharmaceutical companies, similar to Biogen, Teva or Novo-Nordisk, a company…
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US Travel Bans: News and Expectations

US Travel Bans: News and Expectations

Blog
What are the travel bans currently applicable to citizens of certain countries when coming to the US? What recent changes have taken place? What is their impact? Why are they maintained? What evolution can we expect? In this article we try to answer these questions. 1) Status As is well known, since January 2020, the US government has been imposing a series of entry bans on travelers from a group of countries as a result of the pandemic caused by COVID-19. These bans, which have hardly changed and currently affect 33 countries, prevent entry when the traveler has been in one of them in the previous 14 days. The countries affected are, in chronological order of their ban, China, Iran, the Schengen Area, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Brazil, South Africa…
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Keys for the Commercialization of Medical Devices in the US

Keys for the Commercialization of Medical Devices in the US

Laws and regulations
By Maria Jose Lopez Barragan, Ph.D. Markentry USA Partner and Juan Rivera-Mata, Ph. D. Markentry USA Partner Many companies plan their entry into the American market without a good understanding of the legal requirements that govern their products in the US. The FDA (Food and Drug Administration) regulates the consumption not only of drugs and food, but also of veterinary products, cosmetics, tobacco, and so-called “medical devices”.About one-fifth of what American consumers spend is, in one way or another, regulated by the FDA Under the category of medical devices there is a wide variety of products that ranges from complex devices that assist robotic surgery or even artificial organs, to objects that accompany our daily lives and whose perception can be very different from what anyone would consider a medical…
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How to Ensure your International Company Website is Effective in the US

How to Ensure your International Company Website is Effective in the US

Business Development
Introduction At this point, it should be unnecessary to explain why taking care of the online presence of a business is essential if you want to succeed in any market in the world, with very few exceptions. However, it is surprising the high number of errors that can be identified when reviewing the web pages of international companies that are devoting large amounts of resources to entering the US market. In this article we will identify the most frequent problems and propose some ways to solve them.Think Globally, Act LocallyIn a global or international strategy, it is essential to know the details that must be adapted for important markets. The United States is a country with special characteristics that may lead to the need for not obvious modifications in the message…
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Immigration and Travel to the US: Update

Immigration and Travel to the US: Update

Blog
End of immigration suspension Unsurprisingly, quietly and with little media attention, the restrictions on the issuance of nonimmigrant visas H-1B, L-1 and J-1, which had been in force since June 24, 2020, expired on March 31st. Since then, US consulates around the world have restarted the issuance of H-1B, L-1 and J-1 visas without the need for an additional request for a national interest exception. This joins the elimination of the suspension on immigrant visas or 'Green Cards' ordered by President Biden on February 24 and that we already discussed in our article Important news about immigration to the US.Therefore, US consulates have restarted the processing of visas that had been blocked and have started accepting new visa applications. It is expected that it will take some time before consular activity…
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7 Highlights from my Conversation with two Ambassadors on the Biden Era

7 Highlights from my Conversation with two Ambassadors on the Biden Era

Blog
By Gonzalo García, Founder and CEO of Markentry USA Last Wednesday, April 21st, I had the pleasure of hosting a webinar on behalf of the US Spain Executives Community with the title ''Biden Era, Impact on US Spain relations". We had the privilege of talking with Spain's Ambassador to the US, Santiago Cabanas, and former US Ambassador to Spain, Alan Solomont. You can find a full description of the webinar, their bios and the complete video at the event web page.The purpose of the webinar was to discuss the changes derived from the transition to the new Biden Administration and its impact on the bilateral relations between Spain and the US. It focused on economic and business aspects, including topics like multilateralism, immigration, trade, tariffs, business opportunities and other areas. Even though the…
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