ADVISORY/Homeland Security Measures Impact Global Trade.

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

ADVISORY...for Friday (Dec. 5)

Topical News: War On Terrorism 

--(BUSINESS WIRE)

Strategies For California Businesses To Navigate New Laws Outlined by GT Nexus and Open Harbor at International Trade Conference in San Jose 

New Homeland Security measures to thwart terrorism and protect U.S. borders have been announced by the U.S. government. The new rules come at a time when California businesses continue to look to global markets to fuel growth and the state's economic recovery.

Strategies for California businesses to manage these new rules, while making their global logistics trade operations more efficient, will be outlined at the "Global California - An Economy in Transition" conference this Friday, November 5th at the Cisco Conference Center in San Jose. The conference is an all-day forum with leading government and industry organizations addressing the future of global trade for California.

California is a dynamic test bed for the latest technologies to help companies manage the complex processes involved in sourcing and selling goods around the world. In a panel titled "Epicenter of the e-Logistics Revolution," two Bay Area technology companies - GT Nexus and Open Harbor - will provide conference attendees with practical advice and strategies for effective business processes, technology tools and services to efficiently run a global supply chain, while ensuring compliance with stringent new trade regulation and Homeland Security rules.

The need for heightened security and control of cargoes moving in and out of the U.S. is critical to successful anti-terrorism efforts - and efficient global trade operations. "The consequences of a terrorist incident using a container would be profound," Douglas Browning, deputy commissioner, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, told a conference on maritime security. If a weapon of mass destruction concealed in a container box was detonated at a US port, "the impact on trade and the world economy will be immediate and devastating."

California businesses who do not comply with the new reporting rules risk having their goods denied entry or exit, as well as being subject to shipment delays, fees, fines and penalties. Two hundred million containers - over 90 percent of global cargo flows - are transported between the world's seaports each year. Six million cargo containers, or half the incoming trade into the United States, are offloaded at U.S. seaports each year.

When:        Friday, December 5, 2003
             2:00 - 3:00 pm PT

What:        California International Trade Conference
             Panel Presentation: "Epicenter of the E-Logistics
              Revolution"

Where:       Cisco Conference Center
             Building 9, 260 East Tasman Drive
             San Jose, California 95134

Who:         Greg  Johnsen, VP, Marketing and Products, GT Nexus, Inc.
              (www.gtnexus.com)
             Beth Peterson, VP, Product Solutions, Open Harbor, Inc.
              (www.openharbor.com)
             Bill Goldsborough, President, Logistics Alliance Services

On-site
 Contacts:   Gary Frantz, GT Nexus
             415-819-6013
             Mahipal Lunia, Open Harbor
             650-868-7695