Malta Country Commercial Guide
Learn about the market conditions, opportunities, regulations, and business conditions in malta, prepared by at U.S. Embassies worldwide by Commerce Department, State Department and other U.S. agencies’ professionals
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Market Challenges
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Malta’s location and size have deterred entry for some suppliers.

Bilateral trade between Malta and the United States has been limited, in part, due to a lack of direct flights or major shipping connections.  Though there is a direct shipping connection to Malta for containerized shipments, partial shipments must come through neighboring European ports.  Local importers mitigate these difficulties by importing high-value, low-volume items and by acquiring goods from U.S. subsidiaries or associates in Europe and other nearby states.

Corruption has been at the forefront of Malta’s politics and society for the last few years.  Transparency International’s Corruption Perception Index for 2020 (most recent survey) scored Malta at 53 on a scale of zero (corrupt) to 100 (transparent).  A slow judiciary can draw out legal proceedings for years; Malta’s struggle to close successful prosecutions makes rule of law a significant concern, and the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) placed Malta on its list of jurisdictions under increased monitoring in June 2021. 

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Global Business Navigator Chatbot Beta

Welcome to the Global Business Navigator, an artificial intelligence (AI) Chatbot from the International Trade Administration (ITA). This tool, currently in beta version testing, is designed to provide general information on the exporting process and the resources available to assist new and experienced U.S. exporters. The Chatbot, developed using Microsoft’s Azure AI services, is trained on ITA’s export-related content and aims to quickly get users the information they need. The Chatbot is intended to make the benefits of exporting more accessible by understanding non-expert language, idiomatic expressions, and foreign languages.

Limitations

As a beta product, the Chatbot is currently being tested and its responses may occasionally produce inaccurate or incomplete information. The Chatbot is trained to decline out of scope or inappropriate requests. The Chatbot’s knowledge is limited to the public information on the Export Solutions web pages of Trade.gov, which covers a wide range of topics on exporting. While it cannot provide responses specific to a company’s product or a specific foreign market, its reference pages will guide you to other relevant government resources and market research. Always double-check the Chatbot’s responses using the provided references or by visiting the Export Solutions web pages on Trade.gov. Do not use its responses as legal or professional advice. Inaccurate advice from the Chatbot would not be a defense to violating any export rules or regulations.

Privacy

The Chatbot does not collect information about users and does not use the contents of users’ chat history to learn new information. All feedback is anonymous. Please do not enter personally identifiable information (PII), sensitive, or proprietary information into the Chatbot. Your conversations will not be connected to other interactions or accounts with ITA. Conversations with the Chatbot may be reviewed to help ITA improve the tool and address harmful, illegal, or otherwise inappropriate questions.

Translation

The Chatbot supports a wide range of languages. Because the Chatbot is trained in English and responses are translated, you should verify the translation. For example, the Chatbot may have difficulty with acronyms, abbreviations, and nuances in a language other than English.

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