INTERNATIONAL TRADE ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

AUTHORIZATION:

Freedom Support Act, Title III, Public Law 102- 511; Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, Section 632(a), as amended.

OBJECTIVES:

To help U.S. firms identify opportunities to export to and invest in Russia. American Business Centers (ABCs) will provide significant benefits to Russian firms with business training and technical assistance to enhance the ability of Russian firms to become viable trade and investment partners for U.S. firms. All services are exclusively available to U.S. firms on a fee-for-service basis.

TYPES OF ASSISTANCE:

Project Grants.

USES AND USE RESTRICTIONS:

Each award will cover a 1-year period for a total amount of not more than $200,000 in Federal funds.

ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS:

Applicant Eligibility:   United States for-profit firms, nonprofit organizations, government agencies, industry and trade associations, and educational institutions are eligible to apply. An enterprise which includes or intends to include participation of host country citizens or entities will be considered an eligible applicant, so long as the applicant is and will remain throughout the award period, controlled by citizens or entities of the United States.

Beneficiary Eligibility:   United States for-profit firms, nonprofit organizations, nonfederal government agencies, industry and trade associations, and educational institutions are eligible to apply. An enterprise which includes or intends to include participation of host country citizens or entities will be considered an eligible applicant, so long as the applicant is and will remain throughout the award period, controlled by citizens or entities of the United States.

Credentials/Documentation:   None.

APPLICATION AND AWARD PROCESS:

Preapplication Coordination:   None. This program is excluded from coverage under E.O. 12372.

Application Procedure:   Competitive Application Kit. Standard Forms SF-424, SF-424B, and the CD-511. Certifications Regarding Debarment, Suspension, and Other Responsibility Matters: Drug-Free Workplace Requirement and Lobbying must be completed. These forms are available, through written request, from the Russia/NIS Program Office, U.S. and Foreign Commercial Service, Department of Commerce, Room 1235, HCHB, Washington, DC 20230. Telephone: (202) 482-2902. Fax: (202) 482- 2456.

Award Procedure:   Each application will be evaluated by a panel of at least three independent International Trade Administration (ITA) reviewers qualified to evaluate applications submitted under the program. Applications will be evaluated on a competitive basis in accordance with the evaluation criteria. Awards will be based on the highest total accumulated score and geographic location.

Deadlines:   Proposals must be submitted to the Russia/NIS Program Office on or before 4:30 p.m. (E.S.T.) on the deadline date which is published in the applicable Federal Register notice which will be 30 days after the date of publication.

Range of Approval/Disapproval Time:   Approximately 2 months.

Appeals:   All award decisions are final. There is no appeal process.

Renewals:   Grantee's receipt of future funding is contingent upon the availability of appropriated funds, and satisfactory performance, and will be at the sole discretion of ITA.

ASSISTANCE CONSIDERATIONS:

Formula and Matching Requirements:   Grantees must supply at least 50 percent of total project costs, with the Federal portion of total project costs to be no more than fifty percent. A minimum of one-half of the support supplied by the grantee must be in the form of cash. The remaining portion of the grantee's support may consist of cash or in- kind contributions (goods and services contributed by a third-party).

Length and Time Phasing of Assistance:   Each award will cover a 1- year period.

POST ASSISTANCE REQUIREMENTS:

Reports:   Each ABC will submit a quarterly written report to ITA providing accurate information about the ABC's work during the previous calendar quarter.

Audits:   The performance of each ABC will be evaluated annually by ITA personnel through quarterly written reports and commercial information reporting, ITA surveys of clients, and visits by ITA officials to the ABCs.

Records:   Financial records, supporting documents, statistical records, and all other records pertinent to an award shall be retained for a period of 3 years from the date of submission of the final expenditure report, or for awards that are renewed quarterly or annually, from the date of the submission of the quarterly or annual financial report, as authorized by the Federal awarding agency.

FINANCIAL INFORMATION:

Account Identification:   13-1250-0-1-376.

Obligations:   (Cooperative Agreements) FY 99 $700,000; FY 00 est $0; and FY 01 est $0.

Range and Average of Financial Assistance:   $650,000 to $4,687,680; $1,794,139.

PROGAM ACCOMPLISHMENTS:

Currently the Commercial Service operates ABCs on-site at posts in St. Petersburg and Vladivostok, Russia; Kiev, Ukraine; Almaty, Kazakstan; and Tashkent, Uzbekistan. Private U.S. organizations operate ABCs in seven cities without CS representation: Chelyabinsk, Khabarovsk, Nizhny Novgorod, Samara, Volgograd, Yekaterinburg, and Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, Russia. The ABCs developed influential contacts that provide essential access throughout Russia and NIS. This prestige and influence with regional administrations makes the ABCs indispensable on-the-ground facilitators of U.S. export actions. In less than 3 years, more than 2,000 U.S. companies used the ABC services to further their business interests in Russia and the New Independent States (NIS). With the help of the ABCs, U.S. companies reported over $34 million in export sales to the Russia/NIS region, with an estimated $56 million in potential future sales.

REGULATIONS, GUIDELINES, AND LITERATURE:

Application Kit may be obtained free of charge from the Russia/NIS Program Office, U.S. and Foreign Commercial Service, Department of Commerce, Room 1235, HCHB, Washington, DC 20230. Telephone: (202) 482-2902. Fax: (202) 482-2456.

INFORMATION CONTACTS:

Regional or Local Office:   Russia/NIS Program Office, U.S. and Foreign Commercial Service, Department of Commerce, Room 1235, HCHB, Washington, DC 20230. Telephone: (202) 482-2902. Fax (202) 482-2456.

Headquarters Office:   Russia/NIS Program Office, U.S. and Foreign Commercial Service, Department of Commerce, Room 125, HCHB, Washington, DC 20230.

Web Site Address:   http://www.ita.doc.gov.

RELATED PROGRAMS:

None.

EXAMPLES OF FUNDED PROJECTS:

ABCs offer American companies a broad range of business development and facilitation services on a user-fee basis. Their emphasis is on helping small- and medium-sized U.S. firms including: Business counseling and market research; screening and assessing partners; trade mission and event planning; business appointment scheduling; office and conference room rental; international telephone, fax and e-mail; secretarial assistance; and interpretation and translation services. As an example: ABC St. Petersburg provided telecommunications and mail box services to a small-medium sized U.S. company that resulted in a $400,000 per month contract with the largest distributor of picture frames in the Northwest Russia.

CRITERIA FOR SELECTING PROPOSALS: