Services Overview
Group Roundtables
Limited to about 20 to 30 senior executives, our roundtable discussions are informal, off-the-record meetings with one or several government officials. About 150 group roundtables are organized every year. These meetings usually take place over breakfast, lunch, or dinner and include remarks by the guest official(s), followed by a question and answer session.
Conferences & Receptions
Conferences and receptions managed by BCIU offer opportunities for member companies and governments to jointly address issues of common concern. The initiative to organize a conference is taken by BCIU members, U.S. government officials, or foreign government officials. The host determines the format for the conference or reception: for example, the conference format may include panel discussions, breakout sessions, and networking receptions, while the reception format may include keynote speakers.
Trade Mission Tours (Domestic & Abroad)
BCIU organizes multi-city tours, both in the U.S. and abroad, for delegations from the private and public sectors. The missions are usually thematic and focus on achieving specific objectives and providing maximum exposure to local businesses and government constituents.
Tours may be arranged for delegations of foreign government officials and/or business executives visiting from abroad who would like to target one or more U.S. cities as well as U.S. delegates traveling abroad. Services included range from arranging the agenda to preparing briefing materials as well as devising marketing campaigns to managing public relations.
Commercial Diplomacy Advice/Multi-Stakeholder Dialogue
BCIU offers advisory services for policy makers and business executives in the U.S. and abroad. BCIU works regularly on company-specific and in-country matters by helping to develop a strategy and access the appropriate actors who can help address issues and expand opportunities.
Private Meetings
BCIU coordinates meeting schedules for U.S. and foreign government officials traveling in the U.S. and abroad and arranges meetings with senior executives from BCIU member companies who would like a one-on-one meeting with the government official.
Tele/Video-Conferencing
This service is especially cost-effective and allows business executives from various industries to speak directly with U.S. Ambassadors and commercial teams at American embassies throughout the world from the comfort of their own offices. Such calls are frequently scheduled before and after major elections. BCIU may also broker private calls between business executives and government officials.
Commercial Training Program
BCIU designs and delivers commercial training courses for U.S. Foreign Service and U.S. Foreign Commercial Service personnel, all of which aim to offer support to and strengthen effectiveness of an American embassy’s role in promoting U.S. business interests in overseas markets. These courses comprise BCIU’s Commercial Training Program, a series of formal instructional programs offered by BCIU in conjunction with the U.S. Departments of State and Commerce. BCIU recruits corporate executives from its membership to serve as faculty instructors to lead these courses for U.S. diplomats-in-training.
Government Programs
BCIU has been a pre-qualified Indefinite-Quantity Contractor (IQC) for the U.S. Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) since March 2006. BCIU participates in a competitive bidding process to manage orientation visits, conferences, and training programs for USTDA.
Once awarded a contract, BCIU is responsible for the implementation, which often includes a series of meetings, site visits, roundtables, conferences, and receptions with the visiting delegations. This affords BCIU member companies various opportunities to meet with the delegates as part of the BCIU programming and membership service offering.
Annual Gala
Since 1984, BCIU’s members and special guests assemble annually in New York to celebrate the partnerships that encourage international trade and diplomacy. Since 2003, BCIU honors a distinguished member of the business community who embodies outstanding leadership and achievement in the international arena with the prestigious Dwight D. Eisenhower Global Leadership Award. Invitees include Heads of States, Foreign and U.S. Ambassadors, Officials from Multi-Lateral organizations, senior business executives from all sectors.
