RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C. – Executives representing top North American automotive aftermarket suppliers visited Washington, D.C., on June 29 to advance aftermarket exports in an event organized by the Overseas Automotive Council (OAC), part of the Automotive Aftermarket Suppliers Association (AASA). OAC members were joined at the event by the Washington, D.C. office of the Motor & Equipment Manufacturers Association (MEMA).
AASA Overseas Automotive Council leaders met with key representatives from the Export-Import Bank, the Office of United States Trade Representative and the U.S. Department of Commerce to raise awareness of the global market for North American automotive aftermarket products.
“In conjunction with its Overseas Automotive Council, AASA has initiated a new export promotion campaign designed to help our full service automotive aftermarket supplier member companies achieve exponential growth in international markets: AASA Export 2011,” said Steve Handschuh, president and COO of AASA. “This event is one of several components of AASA Export 2011, as many of our member companies look at emerging markets to achieve top line sales growth.”
“OAC’s mission is to provide our members with multiple avenues for increasing their export potential,” said Jeremy Denton, AASA vice president and executive director of OAC. “By opening this dialogue with representatives from these government agencies, our members can extend their companies’ global reach by increasing their knowledge of international markets. This event also educates members about the information and services offered by these groups to support U.S. businesses.”
The OAC executives met with the Export-Import Bank to learn more about export insurance. The group’s discussions with the Office of United States Trade Representative focused on topics such as country of origin, security issues, duties and shipping issues. Meetings with the U.S. Department of Commerce centered on the Obama administration’s National Export Initiative, regional business strategies and international trade shows.
For more information about the OAC, visit www.oac-intl.org.
