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Grand Rapids Local Partners
The Grand Rapids office of the U.S. Commercial Service partners with a number of organizations in order to better support West Michigan's exporters.

CS Grand Rapids Local Partners

The Grand Rapids office of the U.S. Commercial Service partners with a number of organizations in order to better support West Michigan’s exporters. By supporting and being part of an export assistance ecosystem, the Grand Rapids office helps to ensure exporters get the assistance they need.

OUR EXPORT ASSISTANCE PARTNERS



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The West Michigan District Export Council provides practical, hands-on consulting. MDEC volunteers are appointed by the U.S. Secretary of Commerce to work in conjunction with the USCS: www.exportwestmichigan.com.

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SBA is an independent agency of the federal government that helps to start, build, and grow businesses: www.sba.gov.

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EX-IM is the official export credit agency of the U.S. They offer trade finance and credit solutions: www.exim.gov.

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MEDC increases Michigan’s export opportunities by helping businesses identify and enter key international markets: www.michiganbusiness.org/export.

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MDARD helps Michigan food and agriculture companies enter new markets or expand existing markets to increase international market reach: www.michigan.gov/agexport.

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SBDC provides no-cost business consulting, secondary market research, business education and technology commercialization to businesses across the state: www.sbdcmichigan.org.

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GVSU-VAGTC strengthens the community through increased global business by providing international consulting, export/import training, networking and resources: www.vagtc.org.

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MSU-IBC provides education, research, and assistance to businesses on international business and trade: www.ibc.msu.edu.

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The Grand Rapids Chamber of Commerce provides experience, expertise, and events to help businesses thrive: www.grandrapids.org.

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The Right Place offers West Michigan businesses confidential, comprehensive business assistance services: www.rightplace.org.

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Southwest Michigan First is an organization of privately funded economic development advisors who act as the catalyst for economic growth in Southwest Michigan: www.southwestmichiganfirst.com.

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Networks Northwest helps businesses start, grow and stay in the Northern Michigan area: networksnorthwest.org.

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Automation Alley connects industry, academia and government to fuel Michigan’s economy and accelerate innovation: www.automationalley.com.

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World Affairs Council is a resource for West Michigan businesses for news, events, programs and forums featuring experts on topics of international interest: www.worldmichigan.org.

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West Michigan World Trade Association is a non-profit organization dedicated to maintaining the region’s competitive edge in the global marketplace, while providing a forum for executives interested in sharing their experiences and honing their skills in international trade: www.wmwta.org.

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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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