FTA stands for Free Trade Agreement.
As our name suggests, FTA International helps clients take full advantage of the free trade agreements in place throughout the Americas. We also have experience representing the interests of individual companies and industry groups on matters relating to FTA negotiations and implementation.
Our core services are trade consulting, market access assistance, and market development. Each of these is described in further detail below.
Trade Consulting
FTA has been working to develop an in-depth knowledge of the Latin American and Caribbean markets for 15 years. Our trade policy knowledge and comprehensive market reports will help your company strategically plan its marketing and trade activities for maximum ROI.
Trade Consulting Services Explained:
Market Research We work with our clients to identify and assess the impact of marketing mix changes on customer behavior. Our goal is to provide management with relevant, reliable information about the current marketplace.
Strategic Planning Using market research data, we can help you develop a business plan for entering into or expanding within Latin America, the Caribbean, or the US. Because we also offer marketing assistance, we are also able to help our clients develop realistic budgets required to hit their growth targets.
Market Access
Our established presence in Latin America and the Caribbean is our clients' greatest asset. We work with clients to leverage our embassy, local government, and sales channel connections to their greatest advantage.
Market Access Services Explained:
Assistance with Market Entry When establishing a commercial presence in a new market, we can help you set up local offices as you grow your market presence. We strongly recommend that you engage qualified legal assistance on the front end of international expansions because agreements can be voided or trumped by local laws if they do not comply with local rules.
Technical Training and Seminars Technical seminars are a great way to position your company or association as a market leader. The goal of these seminars is threefold. First, you're able to educate port authorities and government officials who might be misapplying critical product regulations. Second, your distributors begin to see you as a valuable partner who wants to help educate their employees. Finally, you gain long term influence over the interpretation of technical specifications when regulatory issues arise.
Market Development
We help our clients increase market interest in certain product categories; for instance, teaching housewives new recipes for rice or running an apple promotion in a Guatemalan supermarket.
Market Development Services Explained:
Marketing Campaigns We are experienced in coordinating marketing campaigns throughout the Americas, including point of sale (POS) and point of purchase (POP) promotions in major retail outlets, supermarkets, hotel and restaurant industry establishments (HRI), and shopping centers.
Public Relations If you allow FTA International to be your point of contact in the marketplace, we can be your de-facto satellite office in the market, providing direct contact with local buyers and government agencies relevant to your products and markets.