News and Media
American Trade Link officially launched
Friday 21 November 2003
Local companies have a new gateway into the lucrative American market with the launch of an association that promotes trading links between Northern Ireland and the Carolinas, USA.
The Carolinas Northern Ireland Trade Association (CANITA) was officially launched by William McCarter, Chairman of the International Fund for Ireland. CANITA will involve a number of activities aimed at encouraging trade and development between Northern Ireland and the Carolinas, particularly joint ventures, licensing agreements and other forms of partnerships.
The launch of CANITA also involved the unveiling of a new website www.Canita.org designed and developed by Biznet to provide economic and business information on both regions and promote business opportunities.
CANITA is managed and administered by Larne's economic development agency, LEDCOM. It is an extension of the sister-city relationship between Larne and Clover in South Carolina, set up in 1997, which has already produced a number of business related visits between the two areas.
"Launching the initiative, International Fund for Ireland Chairman William T. McCarter said: "We are very pleased to be able to support this latest initiative from LEDCOM. CANITA will create significant business opportunities for Northern Ireland and North Carolina/South Carolina through the development of trading links, the establishment of mutually beneficial international partnerships, the sharing of expertise and helping, in particular, smaller companies with untapped potential".
Ken Nelson of LEDCOM has built up a close association with economic development organisations in the Carolinas during the past five years, which has helped to lay the groundwork for this initiative. He comments: "CANITA is a platform to help launch international trade initiatives such as joint ventures and licensing. It is designed to be of particular help to smaller companies