A commercial Department can be found at the Consulate General of Italy in Los Angeles. The competence of the department runs in the following districts: Arizona, South California (Imperial Valley, Kern, Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, Santa Barbara, San Bernardino, San Diego, San Louis Obispo, Ventura Counties), New Mexico, Nevada. This Office is the head of all institutional events.
The office is available to Italian and American businessmen and to whoever may be interested in establishing commercial relationships between Italy and the U.S. and vice-versa. For this purpose the Office provides information, data and news regarding opportunities for commercial exchanges, investments, Joint Ventures, competitive tenders. The department launches promotional initiatives, or it favors the organization and the realization by providing assistance and support to both public corporations and private businessmen; initiatives also include local authorities and Italian authorities.
This service is released with the collaboration of Italian institutions annexes at the Consulate General in Los Angeles: the Trade Promotion Section of the Consulate General (ICE office-Italian Trade Commission), the Italian-American Chamber of Commerce of Los Angeles (IACCW), the ENIT office (Italian Tourism Board, Los Angeles) concerning the tourism promotion, and the Italian Cultural Institute of Los Angeles for the cultural area.
This collaboration at the consular-diplomatic representation is set to coordinate and link the various individuals operating abroad with the purpose of promoting the Italian image of “Country System”.
This Office operates within the bilateral interchange of support with the Economic and Scientific Department of the Italian Embassy in the elaboration and the gathering of statistical data. In case of commercial disputes, the Consulate General becomes active in promoting the amicable settlement between the parties and the follow up, if necessary. The Consulate facilitates contacts with law firms and specialized agencies for the information and credit recovery.
The Office also supervises courses financed by the Ministry of Public Work through European Union fund. These courses are set to background and retraining Italian citizens living abroad.
The Trade Promotion Section of the Consulate General of Italy in Los Angeles (ICE – Italian Trade Agency) is the public institution which has the task of developing and promoting Italian business relations abroad by giving special attention to small and medium enterprises, consortiums and consolidations.
ICE, in strict collaboration with the Department of Productive Activities, processes the promotional activities program, at the same time takes charge of all the necessary ventures and looks after its realization.
· The “Film Commission” office is also part of the ICE. Its main purpose is to promote Italy as a movie set and to establish relations with the local entertainment industry in order to promote the market of Italian audio-visual industry in the USA.
For detailed information please check the following web sites;
URL: www.ICE.it; www.italtrade.com
E-mail: losangeles@losangeles.ice.it
For useful information on productive investments in the USA and in Italy, please check the following web sites:
· www.partnership-usa.com
· www.investinitaly.com
Italy America Chamber of Commerce West, Los Angeles
As a non profit organization Italy-America Chamber of Commerce West in Los Angeles (IACCW) aims to favor trades and business relations between its members promoting business opportunities between Italian and American operators in both markets and collaborating in synergy with the Consulate General.
· A more accurate description is available at the IACCW web site:
www.italchambers.net/losangeles
USEFUL WEB SITES:
The following web sites are offering helpful information to operators offering further information into different subjects or specific issues. We suggest to log on before you decide to ask any type of information to the Consular Office, which will provide assistance for services that need a closer examination. For business service, please check the following address:
· www.isace.it
· www.simest.it
More information on business opportunities in the consular district can be found at:
www.nascio.org (Select “State Search” > “Economic Development & Commerce”)
More in California:
· California Secretary of State: www.ss.ca.gov
· Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce: www.lachamber.org
“Setting Up Business in California”, a complete guide for foreign investors:
www.commerce.ca.gov/ttca/pdfs/detail/int_trade/settingupbusiness.pdf
We also bring at your attention some major counties web sites where you can find information about current competitive tenders:
· Los Angeles County: www.lacounty.info
· San Diego County: www.co.san-diego.ca.us
· Kern County: www.co.kern.ca.us
· Orange County: www.oc.ca.gov
In Arizona:
· State of Arizona: www.az.gov
· Arizona Chamber of Commerce: www.azchamber.com/business_government/index.shtml
· Maricopa County: www.maricopa.gov
· Coconinno County: www.co.coconinno.az.us
In Nevada:
· The Official State of the Nevada Commission on Tourism: www.nevada.gov
· Community Business Resource Center: www.cbrc.org/activities.html
· “Doing Business in Nevada”: www.nv.gov/sitemap.htm#DOING
For detailed information regarding fiscal legislation and eventual facilitation we suggest:
· Clark County (Las Vegas): www.co.clark.nv.us
· Washoe County: www.co.washoe.nv.us
· Carson City County: www.carson-city.nv.us
In New Mexico:
· State of New Mexico: www.state.nm.us
Helpful news about the single counties can be found at:www.state.nm.us/category/government/city_county.html