The Metro Atlanta Chamber on April 13 will host a morning seminar to help companies learn how to do business in fast-growing South American nations.
Speakers include consuls general from Brazil and Argentina in Atlanta, attorneys from those countries and Chile, as well as local lawyers and accountants who have worked in the region.
Three South American attorneys were already coming into Atlanta to meet with Robert West and Guillermo Wasserman, former Greenberg Traurig LLP attorneys who last week branched out to launch their own international business law firm, Wasserman West LLC.
Mr. West chairs the chamber’s International Partners Council and co-chair of its Global Commerce Committee. He helped arrange for his South American counterparts to speak at the chamber.
The event will provide a “comprehensive” look at the challenges and opportunities of doing business in these hot markets, Mr. West told GlobalAtlanta. The consuls general will give an overview of their countries, and the visiting attorneys will provide on-the-ground insight.
Mr. West, Mr. Wasserman and Yelena Epova, partner at accounting firm Habif, Arogeti & Wynne LLP, will delve into legal and tax issues facing companies entering the market.
Mr. West promised the information covered would be practical, not technical.
“It won’t be intended for lawyers or tax specialists. It will be intended for businesspeople,” he said.
It’s always challenging for companies to enter new markets, but some places are tougher than others, said Ric Hubler, director of international trade development at the chamber.
Since Chile has a free-trade agreement with the U.S., selling goods in that country of 16 million is seen as easier than in Brazil, a huge market that is as coveted as it is misunderstood, said Mr. Hubler, whose job is to help Atlanta companies grow at home through overseas expansion.
“Brazil is viewed as a much more complex market, but at the same time Brazil is the market that has grown by leaps and bounds and has caught everyone’s attention,” Mr. Hubler said.
The conference will help “demystify” the complexities of international business while giving Atlanta companies the chance to make valuable connections with attorneys from these countries, he said.
George Tracy, director of the Commerce Department‘s U.S. Export Assistance Center in Atlanta, will also speak about opportunities in South America.
The event costs $15. For more information or to register, click here.
