Universal Value Exchange

Wanna know a scam going around that affects expats? Have I got one for you. When traveling outside of the US and Canada, many expats find themselves needing to drive. Since your US driver’s license, or UK driver’s license or whatever country, may not be valid in the country you are traveling in, many people need an International Driver’s License. This is a document that supplements your current driver’s license and is valid in any country that has signed the UN Treaty that governs its issue.

So where does the scam come in? Many individuals sell these international driver’s licenses to expats. They charge fees ranging from very little to upwards of $100 depending on who is trying to do the scamming. The problem is that they aren’t even worth the paper they are printed on.

The UN Treaty doesn’t define citizen rights but rather it is an agreement between countries. The treaty doesn’t define the requirements for obtaining the IDL supplement, this is left to individual countries to decide on their own. For US issued driver’s licenses, the State Department has the responsibility to issue IDL’s. They have delegated this responsibility to AAA and a lesser known auto club. These are the only valid IDL’s for US driver’s licenses.

This means that if you buy an international driver’s license off of the internet or Jose at the corner print shop, it is not valid. This could land you in some very hot water if you run into an official who is astute enough to recognize the difference. It might be as simple as trying to do a little explaining or paying a bribe or you could be talking jail time while they sort things out.

If you are already abroad, AAA makes it really easy to get the IDL, just send them a copy of your driver’s license, two photographs and the fee. A few dollars to AAA can sure save a lot of headaches later.

Free trade has many benefits especially for expats. A lot of times, visa requirements are diminished and expats can more easily open businesses in their new homeland. As well, expats have many opportunities to export to or import from their former homeland. Some enterprising Chinese businessmen have taken advantage of the Chile-China FTA by opening the Chinese Commercial Center, a brand new shopping mall in Santiago, Chile.

The new half-million dollar complex houses 54 shops that sells products from Wenzhou, China. This includes handicrafts, clothes, and shoes. I can only imagine how the locals will react to going to shop at a Chinese Shopping Complex, but time will surely tell, but nonetheless the local government in Santiago helped to make this project a reality. This is the 14th overseas shopping complex that its owners, businessmen from Wenzhou, have opened and the first such complex in Latin America.

Reference Article:
Chinese Shopping Complex opens in Chile

As I was surfing tonight trying to look for Bolivian ISP, yes I really don’t have a life, I found this link to US Embassy inspections. You know inspections one government agency does as oversight against another government agency. Kind of interesting reading.

Embassy Inspections

They are just summaries and only a few embassies are listed but they are interesting nonetheless. It gives interesting reading if you have ever had more than limited dealings with an embassy. I never really knew these kind of inspection reports existed, but now I do.

I’d never heard of License Plate Purses before until i found Flicker90.com. They have a huge selection of license purses. They’re very fashionable and very interesting indeed. It turns out they are actually made from license plates!
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If you are interested in western furniture then you should check out the great deals at SantaFeRanchFL.com. They have great deals on the western decor that you fits your style needs. They have been serving the community for 15 years and if you want quality western furniture, check them out.
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