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Friday, January 22, 2010

US State Dept. encourages trade with Gaza

The State Department has something called an "E-Consulate" to act as a virtual US consulate to the Gaza Strip.

It includes this page:
Yes, U.S. companies can do business in Gaza! Dozens of U.S. firms have established agencies and disrtibutorships [sic], and Palestinian consumers have a strong preferance [sic] for a wide variety of U.S. goods and services.

In particular, many U.S. companies have re-oriented their marketing efforts to acknowledge the Palestinian market as culturally, economically, and commercially distinct from the Israeli market. The U.S. Commercial Service in Jerusalem strongly encourages U.S. exporters wishing to market their goods in the West Bank & Gaza to use local Palestinian agents and distributors. Using Israeli agents for Palestinian markets does not utilize local, Palestinian market expertise, and does not allow U.S. firms to maximize their sales exposure to the local market. We can help you find well qualified Palestinian agents and distributors for your products.

Please visit us online at: http://www.buyusa.gov/westbank/en/

I found a cached variant of this page from 2006. It is interesting that the page was never updated since then and gives the appearance of reflecting current US policy, as does the linked page at BuyUSA.gov.