Greenville Business Magazine 2009 October : Page 21
››industry trends Legal Tips for Doing Business Overseas BY KRISTI KEENAN PHOTOGRAPH BY NILL SILVER PHOTOGRAPHY Jay Rogers, Womble Carlyle “ Establishing strong local relationships is the most critical part of selling into foreign markets. I ” n the South, you do business with people you know – that’s just how we operate. According to local experts on international law, you’d be smart to apply that same rule of thumb when doing business overseas. In fact, building strong relationships should be step one for anyone looking to do business overseas – whether you are aiming to export your product, open a company or just put a salesman on the ground. If you have legal representation, your lawyer will do all the corporate due diligence to help find out if the partner- ships you are looking to create are legally sound, but nothing can have a stronger impact on your future foreign investments than taking the time to really get to know the people in your intended market. “Establishing strong local relationships is the most critical part of selling into foreign markets,” says Jay Rogers, an OCTOBER 2009 | GREENVILLE BUSINESS MAGAZINE 21
>>industry trends - Legal Tips for Doing Business Overseas
Kristi Keenan
In the South, you do business with people you know – that’s just how we operate. According to local experts on international law, you’d be smart to apply that same rule of thumb when doing business overseas. In fact, building strong relationships should be step one for anyone looking to do business overseas – whether you are aiming to export your product, open a company or just put a salesman on the ground. If you have legal representation, your lawyer will do all the corporate due diligence to help find out if the partnerships you are looking to create are legally sound, but nothing can have a stronger impact on your future foreign investments than taking the time to really get to know the people in your intended market.
“Establishing strong local relationships is the most critical part of selling into foreign markets,” says Jay Rogers, an attorney with the Greenville office of Womble Carlyle. “The biggest obstacle to establishing these relationships is impatience,” as companies want to rush in and get down to business before really getting the lay of the land and meeting the right people.
Attorney Francesca Mosteller with Smith Moore Leatherwood agrees and adds, “Businesses also have to have an intimate understanding of local business politics and culture. This understanding is at least as valuable as knowing the pertinent laws and regulations.”
“One of the biggest issues I address for my clients with international interests is vendor disputes,” says Rogers. “Many of those problems can be avoided if companies start off with strong relationships, so I also help clients draft relationship agreements on the front end as a preventive measure. In other countries, the courts are even slower than in the U.S., so there are definite advantages to working through disputes together if the solid relationship is there from the start.”
Mosteller also recommends having a reliable contact on the ground in the country where you are looking to do business. “Our firm is a member of the TAGLaw legal network which has member firms in over 100 countries. We have used those member firms to advise our clients considering overseas investments on legal issues in their countries,” she says.
In addition to helping clients build and protect their overseas investment ventures, local attorneys who practice international law also help foreign companies looking to invest in Greenville. “We can and do assist foreign clients with establishing businesses in the U.S., including handling all manner of issues from corporate organization and set-up to tax, employment, and immigration matters,” says Mosteller.
“Tax, customs and immigration issues can be messy for clients,” says Rogers. “Trying to harmonize the tax laws of two countries is often tough, and on the customs front, shipments that come in without the proper paper trail can cause clients big delays in getting their product to market.” Rogers advises clients to analyze the proper customs classification of their products on the front end and be sure to document everything in case a question comes up at customs inspection. Customs officers can put people in jail if they think the customs fraud is deliberate.
Greenville has been fortunate enough to attract a great deal of foreign direct investment from countries such as Japan, Germany, France and Canada. Jay Rogers served as chairman of the Greenville Area Development Corporation (GADC) from 2006 – 2009 and knows firsthand what it takes to get a company to invest in our community. “There is generally a high level of interest in Greenville from foreign firms,” he says. “At any given time, probably 30 to 50 percent of the inquiries are from international companies and we always have several foreign prospects in play.”
The strength of Greenville’s manufacturing base, the pro-business climate, our openness to foreign investment and state incentives all go a long way towards making our community a place companies want to consider. “Greenville Tech is a big selling point as well,” says Rogers. “And Clemson’s research capabilities.”
Mosteller adds,” There is a combination of several motivating factors [for foreign firms], including the reduced costs of doing business here, a skilled employment base, convenient access to national and international transportation facilities, and a community that is diverse and boasts a great quality of life.”
“Personally, having grown up in Washington and lived abroad over the course of many years, there is something both very comfortable and yet thrilling to me about working with folks from different national cultures,” Mosteller says. “Approaching my second year in Greenville, I continue to be amazed by the variety and depth of the international business community here. On the business side, there are endless and exciting opportunities to link resources with innovation and ideas.”
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