Impex President selected to attend WTO Ministerial Meeting

Impex President selected to attend WTO Ministerial Meeting

Press Release
Immediate release
Date: December, 5, 2011
Phone: 270-534-8344

Richard J. Grana, President of Impex, has been selected to attend the Eighth WTO Ministerial Conference (MC8) in Geneva, Switzerland, December 15-17, 2011 as a fully-credentialed US delegate. In the most basic of definitions, the World Trade Organization (WTO) deals with the rules of trade between nations at a global level. The WTO Ministerial Conference is the highest decision-making body of WTO and must meet at least once every two years. The last Ministerial was held in December of 2009. As outlined by the WTO Chair Ambr Yonov Frederick Agah, at an informal General Council meeting on 21 October 2011, the top issues for MC8 are: importance of the Multilateral Trading System and the WTO; Trade and Development; and the DDA (Doha Development Agenda).

Richard J. Grana, is Co-Vice Chair of the Industry Trade Advisory Committee (ITAC 11) for Small, Medium and Minority Businesses, and one of the three delegates selected by the ITAC-11 chair. ITAC-11 is made up of private sector volunteer members appointed by the US Secretary of Commerce and the United States Trade Representative. For the past 4 years, Mr. Grana has been part of this national team of peers who advise the US Department of Commerce and Office of the US Trade Representative on matters of international trade on behalf of Kentucky companies, and SME and minority businesses in particular.