Italian Business Opportuntiy

Part I. COUNTRY BACKGROUND:

Name of the country: Italy (full name: Italian Republic)

Neighboring countries: France, Switzerland, Austria and Slovenia along the Alps.

Capital: Rome

Territorial size of the country: 301,338 sq km (116,346 sq miles)

Population: 60.8 million (UN, 2011)

Political System: Republic

President: Giorgio Napolitano (Democrats of the Left)

Prime Minister: Mario Monti

Political Party: People of Liberty, Democratic Party, Northern League, Future and Liberty, Italy of Values, Union of the Center, Movement for Autonomy.

Form of Law:civil law system; judicial review under certain conditions in Constitutional Court

Economic System:

GNI (current LCU):1,528,056,475,794(World Bank, 2010)

GNI per capita: US $35,150 (World Bank, 2010)

Major Natural Resources: Fish and natural gas.

Agriculture:wheat, rice, grapes, olives, citrus fruits, potatoes, sugar beets, soybeans, beef, and dairy products.

Industry: tourism, machinery, iron and steel, chemicals, food processing, textiles, motor vehicles, clothing, footwear, ceramics.

Main exports: $508.9 billion (2011 est.)Commodities:engineering products, textiles and clothing, production machinery, motor vehicles, transport equipment, chemicals; food, beverages and tobacco; minerals, and nonferrous metals. Partners:Germany 13.2%, France 11.7%, Spain 5.9%, US 5.8%, UK 5.4%, Switzerland 4.6% (2010)

Imports:$541.2 billion (2011 est.)Commodities:engineering products, chemicals, transport equipment, energy products, minerals, nonferrous metals, textiles and clothing; food, beverages, and tobacco.Partners:Germany 16.2%, France 8.5%, China 7.9%, Netherlands 5.4%, Spain 4.5% (2010)

Economic integration organizations: NATO, UN, WTO, etc.

Currency: Euro (EUR)

Freely Traded: Yes

Part II. BUSINESS PROPOSITION:

U.S. firms have an excellent opportunity to export Information Technology products to Italy because of the growing IT infrastructure, the increase in IT investment by SME’s, and the presence...