WHAT: Latin American Business and Legal Developments:

Opportunities and Risks

WHEN: 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday, May 15

WHERE: ACC’s Highland Business Center

5930 Middle Fiskville Rd., Room 201

Background:

AUSTIN – Texas Assistant Secretary of State Geoffrey S. Connor will be the keynote speaker at this seminar hosted by ACC’s International Business Institute. Connor will discuss the importance of Latin American trade to the Texas economy and Texas-Mexico-Latin American relationships and vision for future of trade with those economies.

“This is a very exciting and timely seminar that ACC is hosting,” Connor said. “Economic ties between Texas and Latin America are very important for this state and they will become even more important in the years to come.”

This one-day seminar will examine important business and legal developments that are affecting Latin America. The last twenty years have produced tremendous commercial opportunities for American businesses in the region, as historically closed Latin American markets adopted market liberalization steps, such as privatizing state industries, reducing tariffs, and adopting stronger currencies.

Neal Burnham, appointed by President Bush to serve as the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Export Promotion Services for the U.S. Department of Commerce, will speak briefly about trade with Latin America.

Some other speakers at the seminar include: Larry Pascal, Haynes and Boone, LLP; Karla King, U.S. Senior Commercial Officer, Colombia; Rebecca Armand, U.S. Senior Commercial Officer, Peru; Eduardo Guevara, Haynes and Boone, LLP; and Louis Santamaria, U.S. Senior Commercial Officer, Venezuela.

Haynes and Boone, LLP, is sponsoring the event. Other co-sponsors include: Angelo State University, Business Success Center; Capital City Chamber of Commerce; CIBER – UT Austin; Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce; Greater Austin Hispanic Chamber of Commerce; Texas Department of Economic Development; and the ACC’s Small Business Development Center.

Costs for the seminar is $80 and $30 for students. For more information, contact ACC’s International Business Institute at 223-7290 or visit the Institute’s Web site at www.austin.cc.tx.us/intlbus/events.htm.