At its September Meeting, the Board of Directors approved the establishment of an International Trade Council (ITC). "This Council will provide great opportunity for our members who have considered entering their businesses into the international trade market" said Paul Edelberg, Chairman of the Board of Directors and the new ITC. Since spring of this year, the Chamber has been involved with several international trade programs, China Trade, Legal Trade with Cuba and an event that featured the Ambassador to Viet Nam. The programs have all had great success and a good response from the membership. The Chamber staff has also me with the Trade Information Center of the US Department of Commerce for developing programs for business who are interested in doing international trade. "The Trade Information Center is a critical link for doing international trade and we are looking forward to a strong partnership with the Stamford Chamber of Commerce" said Carl Jacobsen, Director of the Connecticut office of International Trade, US Department of Commerce.

The committee had its first event scheduled for October 10th with the Asian American Business Development Center (AABDC) of New York. The event has been postponed until sometime in January due to the September 11th terrorist attack. "We were disappointed that the October 10th event was postponed until after the first of the year, but we certainly understand AABDC's concern for getting the necessary vises" Said Jack Condlin, President of the Chamber.

The ITC's main objective is to provide opportunity for the members to explore international trade. The committee is already working on a page within our web-site. The page will provide links to many of the organizations that provide assistance to business looking to trade with that particular country.