trade winds
Trade Winds
Trade Winds is the largest U.S. government-led annual trade mission and business development forum.

Dean Matlack's Bio

Dean Matlack

Dean Matlack is currently based at the U.S. Embassy in Accra, where he has worked since 2021 to facilitate trade and investment between the United States and Ghana. His previous assignments include tours at U.S. Missions in Kazakhstan, Thailand and Japan. Dean also served a domestic posting at the U.S. Export Assistance Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Prior to joining the Foreign Service, Dean served as a Trade Policy Analyst in the office of the Deputy Undersecretary for International Trade at the U.S. Department of Commerce. He joined the Department in 2001 as a Presidential Management Fellow and served a rotational assignment to the Office of the United States Trade Representative. From 1994-1997, Dean was employed by the Japanese Ministry of Education as a language instructor and local coordinator for international relations in Kumamoto, Japan.

Matlack holds a Master of Public Administration in International Management from the Monterey Institute of International Studies and a Bachelor of Science with Honors in Political Science from Weber State University.

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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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