Bob Straetz of US Department of Commerce

The United Kingdom leaving the European Union—Brexit—has created changes in business conditions that US companies need to be aware of.  No longer will products going to the UK just have to meet Single Market rules.  Brexit has brought about changes involving CE marking, regulations, logistics, and tariff and VAT rates that US companies should be familiar with.  Join us as we discuss Brexit on December 1.

Biography:

Bob Straetz has been working at Department of Commerce, Office of Europe, since October 1988.  For the first five years, he was editor of the newsletter ‘Europe Now,’ a 12-page quarterly that went out to 20,000 companies.  From 1994, Bob has followed CE mark developments in Europe and has answered questions from U.S. companies about what steps they need to take so their products will meet CE mark requirements.  Bob has also followed other major European issues such as the Euro, European standards, EU environmental directives (such as the Restriction of Hazardous Substances or RoHS), procurement, and Brexit. 

Bob won the 2004 Commerce Customer Service Award for his work in helping US companies understand and meet CE mark requirements.  He holds a BA in History from Colgate University in Upstate New York and a Masters of Business Administration from Pace University in White Plains, NY.

Email:

Address:US Department of Commerce , Office of Western and Northern Europe, Washington, DC, United States