Czech Republic
General
Information & Brief Economic Summary
Standards
Government
Contacts in Czech Republic
US Contacts in
Czech Republic
Czech Government
Contacts
Trade Event
Schedule
General Information & Brief
Economic Summary
Until the 1930s, Czechoslovakia was one of the economic powerhouses of Europe with the 9th largest economy in the world.
• The Czech Republic entered the European Union in May 2004.
• The Czech Republic has become a hub for automotive and electronics manufacturing in Central Europe.
• Strong local currency (the crown) gives Czech manufacturers increasing purchasing power.
• The Czech Republic is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Europe.
• Economic growth strong at 6%; a steady rate of 4-5 percent growth is expected to continue through 2008.
• Inflation has picked up and is projected to reach 4% in 2008, while unemployment has dropped to 6 percent.
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Standards
The organization that develops and maintains standards within the Czech Republic is
the Czech Office for Standards, Metrology and Testing. Their website
(www.unmz.cz/index_en.html) outlines standards legislation, and offers international
contract documents as well as harmonized standards in accordance to particular
government orders. The annual plan for the Czech Office for Standards, Metrology and
Testing is the harmonization of current standards in the Czech Republic with those of the
EU and maintaining the standards in relation to new government policies.
EU standards setting is a process based on consensus initiated by industry or mandated
by the European Commission and carried out by independent standards bodies, acting
at the national, European or international level. There is strong encouragement for nongovernmental organizations, such as environmental and consumer groups, to actively
participate in European standardization.
Many standards in the EU are adopted from international standards bodies such as the
International Standards Organization (ISO). The drafting of specific EU standards is
handled by three European standards organizations:
_ CENELEC, European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardization
(http://www.cenelec.org/Cenelec/Homepage.htm)
_ ETSI, European Telecommunications Standards Institute (http://www.etsi.org/)
_ CEN, European Committee for Standardization, handling all other standards
(http://www.cen.eu/cenorm/homepage.htm)
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Government Contacts in Czech
Republic
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US Government
Contacts
American Embassy Prague
H.E. Richard W. Graber, Ambassador
Trziste 15, 118 01 Praha 1
tel.: (+420) 257 022 000, fax: (+420) 257 022 809
web: http://www.usembassy.cz
Ms. Victoria Silverman, Press Attaché
tel.: (+420) 257 022 005, fax: (+420) 257 022 814
Mr. Stuart Hatcher, Consul General
tel.: (+420) 257 022 000, fax: (+420) 257 022 809
Ms. Karen Reider, Economic Officer
tel.: (+420) 257 022 000, fax: (+420) 257 022 808
U.S. Department of Commerce/U.S. Commercial Service
tel.: (+420) 257 022 434; fax: (+420) 257 022 810
web: http://www.buyusa.gov/czechrepublic/en
Mr. Greg O’Connor, Commercial Counselor
e-mail: Greg.O’Connor@mail.doc.gov
Mrs. Hana Obrusnikova - Sectors: energy, aerospace, engineering/construction, real
estate, e-mail: Hana.Obrusnikova@mail.doc.gov
Mr. Zdenek Svoboda - Sectors: auto parts/accessories, industrial parts/services,
microelectronics, e-mail: Zdenek.Svoboda@mail.doc.gov
Mrs. Lud'a Taylor - Sectors: telecommunications, e-commerce, IT, safety & security,
e-mail: Luda.Taylor@mail.doc.gov
Mrs. Irena Michlickova – Events management, Sectors: film, music
e-mail: Irena.Michlickova@mail.doc.gov
Mrs. Veronika Novakova – Sectors: environmental Products/Services,
medical/dental/pharmaceutical, veterinary, cosmetics, publishing & education
e-mail: Veronika.Novakova@mail.doc.gov
Mrs. Jana Ruckerova – Sectors: financial and business services, franchising, consumer
goods, textile & apparel, food processing
e-mail: Jana.Ruckerova@mail.doc.gov
U.S. Department of Agriculture/Foreign Agricultural Service
Ms. Petra Hrdlickova, Agricultural Specialist
tel.: (+420) 257 022 393, fax: (+420) 257 022 803
e-mail: petra.hrdlickova@usda.gov, web: http://www.fas.usda.gov
U.S. Department of Commerce Washington, DC
Advocacy Center
Ms. Pat Nugent
tel.: (202) 482-3392,
e-mail: patricia.nugent@mail.doc.gov, web: http://www.buyusa.gov/czechrepublic/en/143.html
Market Access and Compliance
Central and Eastern Europe Division (CEED)
Mr. Michael Rogers
tel. (202) 482-4915, fax (202) 482-4505
e-mail: Michael_Rogers@ita.doc.gov
American Chamber of Commerce
Mr. Weston Stacey, Executive Director
Dusni 10, 110 00 Prague 1
tel.: (+420) 222 329 430; fax: (+420) 222 329 433
e-mail: amcham@amcham.cz, web: http://www.amcham.cz
American Center Plzen
Mr. Vladimir Palek, Director
Dominikanska 9, 301 12 Plzen, Czech Republic
tel. (+420) 377 237 722, fax (+420) 377 237 725
e-mail: info@americancenter.cz
CzechTrade
Main office
Mr. Ivan Jukl, General Director
Dittrichova 21, P.O. Box 76, 128 01 Praha 2
tel: (+420) 224 907 500, fax: (+420) 224 907 503
e-mail: infoc@czechtrade.cz, web: http://www.czechtrade.cz
CzechTrade Chicago
Mr. Pavel Lacina
Suite 938 The Merchandise Mart, Chicago, IL 60654
tel: (312) 644-1790, fax: (312) 527-5544
e-mail: chicago@czechtrade.cz, web: http://www.czechtrade.cz/en/
CzechInvest
Main Office
Mrs. Alexandra Rudysarova, CEO
Stepanska 15, 120 00 Prague 2
tel: (++420) 296 342 500, fax: (++420) 296 342 502
e-mail: marketing@czechinvest.org, web: http://www.czechinvest.org
CzechInvest Chicago
Mr. Bohuslav Frelich
Suite 938, The Merchandise Mart, 200 World Trade Center, Chicago, IL 60654
tel: (312) 245-0180; fax: (312) 245-0183
e-mail: chicago@czechinvest.org, web: www.czechinvest.org
Czech Office for Standards, Metrology and Testing
Mr. Alexander Safarik-Pstrosz, President
Gorazdova 24, 128 01 Prague 2
tel: (+420) 224 915 489, fax: (+420) 224 915 064
e-mail: safarik@unmz.cz, web: http://www.unmz.cz
General Directorate of Customs
Mr. Pavel Novotny, General Director
Budejovicka 7, 140 96 Praha 4
tel: (+420) 261 331 111, fax: (+420) 261 332 900
e-mail: podatelna@cs.mfcr.cz, web: http://www.mfcr.cz
Czech Confederation of Industry
Mr. Jaroslav Mil, President
Lighthouse Waterfronts Towers
Jankovcova 1569/2c
170 00 Praha 7
tel: (+420) 234 379 500, fax: (+420)234 379 463
e-mail: spcr@spcr.cz, web: http://www.spcr.cz
Economic Chamber of the Czech Republic
Mr. Jaromir Drabek, President
Freyova 27,190 00 Prague 9
tel: (++420) 296 641 112, fax: (++420) 296 646 221
e-mail: prezident@komora.cz, web: http://www.komora.cz
Czech Ministry of Finance
For economic and trade statistics
http://www.mfcr.cz /celni sprava/zahranicni obchod
Dun & Bradstreet
Krizikova 159/56, 186 00 Praha 8
tel.: (+420) 226 538 600, fax: (+420)226 538 700
e-mail: custserv@dnbczech.cz, web: www.dnbczech.cz
The Prague Daily Monitor
A daily web-based summary of Czech and regional news delivered free to your email
box.
To subscribe, go to: http://praguemonitor.com/subscribe/
The Fleet Sheet
A daily English language digest of Czech news
tel. (+420) 296 580 160, fax: (+420) 224 221 580
web: http://www.fleet.cz, e-mail: info@fleet.cz
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Czech Government
Contacts
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Trade Event Schedule
TRANSPORT A LOGISTICA 2011
Brno Exhibiton Centre
Czech Republic
Oct. 03 - 07, 2011
www.eventseye.com/fairs/f-transport-a-logistica
Local Trade Events can be found at the link below.
http://www.buyusa.gov/czechrepublic/en/47.html
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Source: US Department of Commerce.
*This guide is not a complete list of trade associations or
publications. We welcome any additions to this document. The
Material Handling Industry does not assume a legal liability or
responsibility for the accuracy, completeness or usefulness of
the information contained herein. The listing of information
here does not reflect an endorsement of any of the particular
information by the Material Handling Industry.