On the 27 th of May, the MCCI held an online Conference "Preparing to enter the U.S. market: Strategies, Key Steps and Specifics”.
"We decided to tell companies what they may encounter in the U.S. market, how to start this work, and what steps to take to make it successful," explained Mr.Suren Vardanyan, the Vice President of the MCCI, opening the Conference. The MCCI, together with other business associations and State structures, such as “Mosprom” and the “Moscow Export Center”, organizes online business missions to accompany companies toward foreign markets and work with digital platforms…
The issues of security, intellectual property preservation, and presence in markets and electronic venues are becoming more and more relevant. My colleagues and I have decided to devote a series of separate events to them, at which practitioners, working in the U.S. market, will speak. We hope that their advice will help guide our entrepreneurs”.
Mr. Timur Knyazev, a certified public accountant (CPA), an IRS registered agent and international tax consultant, described two organizational-legal forms of forming companies - LLC (Limited Liability Company) and C-Corporation, providing the reasons for choosing one or another form (as well as conditions of state for their registration) when entering the US market. The speaker explained why and when a Russian exporter needs to establish a legal entity in the US and familiarized the audience with the peculiarities of international transactions and taxation principles for companies, selling on the US market.
Mr. Rustam Mavlanov, the Deputy Chairman of the MCCI Commission on Foreign Economic Cooperation with the U.S. Partners and General Director of “Synergy Global Trade”, introduced the audience to the basic tools for entering the U.S. market. He drew the attention of the audience to the fact that it is an expensive event - for example, the cost of opening a representative office in the U.S. will be from $500 thousand to $1 million, an amount available only to large businesses
The speaker explicitely described the steps, the first of which is market research (how much demand there is for one’s product, what are the price offers of the competitors and the analysis of data, what is the key feature of a given product, which will be promoted, etc.). He mentioned regulatory compliance - measures to legitimize an exported product. "It is easy to enter the American market - but once one enters it, the exporter is fully responsible for the compliance of goods with its requirements," he warned the audience, reminding them that certificates for all their products, sold in this market, should be prepared in advance, as well as to plan the rest of the promotional activities.
In his speech, Mr. Mavlanov also touched upon the topics of registration of a trademark in the U.S., opening a bank account and obtaining insurance at the stage of entry. He concluded with an example of a Russian company's recent successful entry into the U.S. market.
The CEO and founder of “RODUP.US”, Mr. Rodion Tuvaev, in his report, focused on the regulatory requirements for product certification and licensing in the US market. He spoke about how to prepare a product for exportt step by step (checking the ingredients of the product, its packaging, etc.) and described in detail the nuances of certification, especially noting that sometimes Russian entrepreneurs unknowingly export goods first and then think about certification, which is fraught with lost time and significant financial expenses.
During their presentations, the speakers responded in detail to questions from the audience.
At the end of the event, Mr. Timur Mansurov, the Chairman of the MCCI Commission on foreign economic cooperation with partners in the United States and Head of the Moscow branch of “Synergy Global Trade”, thanked the speakers and wished the attendees to receive as much information as possible, necessary for their activities and to confidently enter foreign markets.
Mr. Vardanyan, in his closing remarks, reminded the audience that the Moscow Chamber of Commerce and Industry has specialists, who can be involved in supporting companies when they enter foreign markets, including the U.S., making this entry comfortable and safe. He encouraged the audience to send their questions to the Chamber.