Atid EDI

Atid E.D.I. (Economic Development for Israel) - 65% of business is done in the states. 7 of the U.S. states represented in Israel are owned by Atid. Atid functions as a contract operator.

Barriers to Israel Imports

Intellectual property protection rights are not very well developed. Money laundering issues are also being addressed.

Because there's no advantage to basic manufacturing in Israel, there are no free trade zones in Israel. Only when there are products that require highly educated workers, do you find a value to production in Israel.

Israel is very Euro centered. So when it comes to importing goods, mechanical aspects of the product are generally based on European standards.

$11 Billion of exports leave Israel every year, and only $6 Billion comes in. In the United States 15% of Americans have passports, 85% of Israelis carry passports with them.

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Israel has almost 40 bilateral trade agreements currently active.
Israel is New Mexico's 3rd largest trading partner. This strange relationship is easily explained with one word: Intel.

The biggest thing that students can do when returning to campuses is broadening the perspective of the American business person, and if America is going to secure its place in the global community, they must develope their global awareness. Another barrier is that most successful businesmen do not attempt to get involved with politics, and those that do, have a tough time with the transition.


How are American products currently promoted in Israel?
- Trade Shows
- Seminars
- Locating distributors

American Palestinian Trade

There are 2 Palestinian markets. The Israeli-Palestinians, which Atid works very closely with. The second market, is the West Bank-Palestinian market, which has no money. Supplying for these people becomes a problem, and the simple fact they can't afford anything more than what's cheapest and necessary also inhibits trade. Though the U.S. Embassy has tried working with supplying products to the West Bank, on the ground, it's still extremely hard to ensure that the goods will get to where they need to go.


In 1984, the old shekel was inflating at 3% a day. In 1985, through the efforts of Stanley Fischer and Shimon Perez the entire Israeli economy was changed overnight, and the new shekel was born.


American companies are not doing business in Israel because its Jewish. Intel got built because it made sense. The original start-up of Intel was developed with Jewish connections, but on a business level, any Jewish reason for Intel's presence in Israel is gone - and its now Israel's largest employer.

- 37 technological incubators
- 48 Israeli companies are currently based in Atlanta, Georgia. In March 2006, this figure is likely to jump considerablly when Delta will be offering non-stop flights from Tel Aviv to Atlanta.

EU Labeling

The EU requested that products made in the West Bank be labeled "West Bank." This labeling was turned down because it was too small of a market. Avoiding the issue of whether this would produced unwanted political side-effects.