Global Research Institute of International Trade
Research – Strategize – Connect
Connecting Local Companies to Global Markets! Practice & Policy
The Global Research Institute of International Trade, LLC (GRIIT) is a privately-held, innovative, award-winning international trade consulting firm and think-tank. We are dedicated to empowering companies in minimizing risks and maximizing opportunities in the global market. We also work with government entities in the areas of trade policy analysis and effective implementation.
We help diverse clients from the US and globally to enter, expand, and compete in global markets across North America, Latin America, the Caribbean, Asia Pacific, Europe, and Africa. Our primary services include:
- Customized market research
- Market analysis and selection
- Export readiness assessments
- Trade facilitation and capacity building
- Market entry strategy and implementation
- Competitiveness studies
- Trade policy analyses
- Training
About Us
Your partner in market analysis and strategy for global trade competitiveness!
GRIIT is a privately held US-based firm headquartered in the West Los Angeles region, which is known for its cultural diversity. West Los Angeles is also situated 34 miles from the largest port in the United States–Port of Los Angeles.
The region is home to major movie studies (Fox, Paramount, and Sony), top universities (UCLA, Loyola Marymount), and the digital media/tech hub of Silicon Beach. Companies throughout the region have a significant global presence. Founded in 2013, GRIIT is an award-winning business well known for providing companies with the tools necessary to expand to and compete in the global market over the long term.
GRIIT was awarded the Certificate of Entrepreneurship by SCORE Greater Los Angeles. GRIIT also received the 2023 Global Innovation and Excellence Award by the Global Chamber for its “global impact and success.”
Our international network consists of consultants and partners in the public, private, and higher education sectors throughout more than 30 countries around the world who bring over 20 years of extensive knowledge and expertise.
As a result, GRIIT has the advantage of providing professional services to companies across a variety of industries including, but not limited to, ag-tech, agri-business, food manufacturing, cosmetics, engineering products and services, legal services, and edtech.
GRIIT is built on five key pillars: team-oriented, thoroughness, timeliness, transparency, and trust.
We succeed when the world knows your business!
Our President & CEO
Sarita Jackson, Ph.D., CGBP
Sarita D. Jackson, PhD is the founder, president, and CEO of the Global Research Institute of International Trade, LLC (GRIIT). She is also a certified global business professional (CGBP), a credential that demonstrates competency and professionalism in global business management, global marketing, supply chain management, and trade finance.
The credential is offered by the National Association of Small Business International Trade Educators (NASBITE). As a former tenured associate political science professor at North Carolina A&T State University in Greensboro, NC, Dr. Jackson traveled to countries, such as Chile and Argentina, to study their trade policies and trade relations with the United States.
Furthermore, she received a Fulbright Scholar/Lecture Award to the Dominican Republic, during which she researched the US-Dominican trade negotiations in the area of textiles and apparel, as well as agriculture. Her research has been published in top scholarly, peer-reviewed academic journals such as the Cambridge Review of International Affairs.
Dr. Jackson also served as a consultant for an Arlington, VA-based firm. During this time, she traveled to and advised governments and private sector clients throughout the Southern Africa and Eastern Caribbean regions on leveraging trade agreements to compete globally. Her most recent book, International Trade in Services: Effective Practice and Policy, was published by Routledge Taylor and Francis Group in 2021. Dr. Jackson has been a TEDx speaker and taught university-level courses for business schools domestically and internationally.
She received her B.A. degree in broadcast journalism and Spanish from the University of Southern California and earned a Ph.D. in political science (emphasis on international political economy) from Brown University. She is fluent in English and Spanish. Because of Dr. Jackson’s extensive knowledge and expertise, she remains a sought-after speaker and trainer for events organized by government agencies, universities, and other organizations.
Our Mission
Our mission revolves around facilitating social impact by assisting clients with customized market research, conducting comprehensive trade policy analyses, and developing strategic solutions.
At GRIIT, we understand the significance of our clients’ social objectives. By leveraging our expertise, they can make informed decisions and channel their investments towards enhancing products or services, enabling global expansion, and making a positive difference in the lives of others.
Our Global Partners
Niyi Sanusi
Niyi Sanusi is our Nigerian Country Leader who assists businesses with legal matters, especially as they pertain to doing business in Nigeria. Mr. Sanusi is the managing partner of Throne Legal Associates based in Lagos, Nigeria. He is an erudite advocate, scholar, and barrister.
Strategic Partners
Our Community On the Move
Our Services
Geographical Areas of Expertise
Latin America and the Caribbean
- Antigua
- Barbuda
- Argentina
- Chile
- Costa Rica
- Dominica
- Dominican Republic
- Mexico
- Panama, St. Vincent, and the Grenadines)
Sub-Saharan Africa
- Botswana
- Ghana
- Kenya
- South Africa)
Asia
- China
- India
- The Philippines
- South Korea
Sectors/Industries
- Manufacturing (food and beverage, medical devices)
- Agriculture
- Services (financial)
Advisory
Our clients have benefited from our first-hand knowledge, experience, and insight into key areas of international trade. Those areas range from starting an import/export business to getting your product/service into an overseas market.
Clients have found value in the time saved trying to figure out the global expansion process alone plus the money saved by not making unnecessary costly errors. As a result, they can focus on enhancing their product/service and developing a strategy to compete over the long-term in the best market.
Our advisory services include a set schedule of in-depth one-on-one sessions, a roadmap of required activities to turn insight into action, an accountability framework, and connection to key resources to facilitate the import/export of a good or service.
eLearning
Our e-learning courses are designed to walk participants through the export process. Our main course addresses an overlooked aspect of international trade–exporting a service. By the end of our courses, students will have a preliminary export plan from which to build toward starting the export process.
Our courses are based on over 15 years of designing, teaching, and enhancing courses on international trade from the business, economic, and policy perspectives. These courses have been taught at a variety of institutions in the United States and overseas.
Business & Policy Research
Our clients have found value in the time and money saved by having a systematic, targeted approach to identifying the best market for their product/service and their firm. Prior to spending money traveling to different markets and spending resources on a market just because of a few inquiries, our clients begin the global expansion process with a clear understanding of why a market(s) would offer long-term, consistent, and sustainable opportunities to grow their revenue and profit.
We provide customized market research and strategy recommendations that make sense for that particular company and its product/service.
In addition, we collaborate with organizations to offer research and analyses of global trade policies (e.g., trade agreements) and their impact on firms, industries, and larger economies.
Workshops
We provide hands-on, interactive training in-person and virtually to business owners, executives, and representatives; students; and non-profit organizations. Our workshops can be customized to fit the needs of your organization and audience. Examples of past workshops have focused on conducting market research for global expansion, using international trade statistical databases, developing a sound global business plan, trade agreements and programs, and exporting goods and services.
eLearning Course
The Basic of Exporting Services
This course offers students a practical step-by-step guide to delivering a professional service to consumers based in overseas markets.
Special emphasis is placed on how to identify global market opportunities, selecting the right market for a firm’s services.
Introduction to Exporting
We begin our journey into exporting a service by first understanding the importance of bringing services trade to the forefront of our discussions about international trade practices, strategies, and policies. Next, you will understand how the course is structured and what this course means for your global business goal
Planning & Preparation
At this step, we will walk through the steps of building a sound export plan to identify market opportunities, select the best market for a firm and its services, connecting with funding resources, ensuring payment, and using e-commerce and other forms of digital technology.
Bonus Material
Now, that we have gained the tools to develop a sound services-based export plan, let’s begin the process of finding contract and grant opportunities. This section offers us more in-depth insight into bidding on contracts and writing a grant for federal government funding.
International Trade Overview
Next, on this journey, we gain insight into the export of a service from a historical and contemporary overview. Then, we move toward examining the current trends in the global export of services and foreign direct investment in services.
Policies & Competitive Advantages
The final step of our journey will emphasize the role that trade policies and institutions have in shaping a firm’s ability to compete in any given market around the world. More specifically, we gain deep insight into leveraging the opportunities presented by preferential trade agreements (e.g., US-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA)) and preferential trade programs (e.g., African Growth and Opportunities Act (AGOA)). We will also look at policies set by the World Trade Organization (WTO) to promote cross-border trade in services and promote fair trade practices.
Upon completion of the course, students will be able to access, simple tools to find the appropriate export market opportunities for any given professional service.
Research
US and non-US based firms save time, money, energy, and frustration during the global expansion process with our research and strategy development. Our research, analyses, and insight have been used by firms from various sectors and industries to assess their own resources and capabilities for expansion, find the best market for their products or services, and guide a targeted competitive strategy in the overseas market.
These companies start the export process correctly while minimizing costly errors and using resources wisely. As a result, company resources can be invested into enhancing the company’s product/service and building its international trade capacity.
Additionally, public and private sector organizations gain practical insight into international and domestic-level trade policies. More specifically, GRIIT researchers examine the opportunities and challenges of trade agreements and programs (e.g., US-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) and African Growth and Opportunities Act (AGOA)) for national economies, industries, communities around the globe, and individual firms.
Our clients benefit from customized market research and policy analyses that are based on primary data collection and trade statistical analysis.
Published Articles
Dr. Sarita Jackson
Author
Trade Briefs
Dr. Sarita Jackson
Author
Consulting
Whereas others focus on the what, GRIIT focuses on the why and how!
Our Approach
GRIIT relies on scholarly research to provide simple, yet sound, solutions for business associations, business owners, organizations and universities eager to compete in the global economy.
Approach
Individual clients benefit from a research-based analysis of their companies to determine the best market opportunities for their products and/or services, identify their competitive edge, understand the players in the same market, and develop the most appropriate strategy to enter these markets.
Impact
Clients in a various industries, such as food manufacturing, who have worked with GRIIT have commented that our targeted approach has saved them the frustration and energy of sifting through and trying to comprehend a lot of complex, oftentimes unrelated data; the time trying to figure things out during the export process; and money associated with making costly errors. Savings in these areas–frustration/energy, time, money–has allowed GRIIT clients to focus on what matters–manufacturing their product and building the right team.
Deliverables
With the help of several GRIIT researchers and a main advisor, clients receive a customized export-market analysis and strategy recommendations for entering those markets, among other firm-level data. Clients starting out with a long-term strategy in mind early on in the process benefit from additional GRIIT resources and contacts to actually guide them through the implementation phase of that strategy.
Our Methods
An Intake Questionnaire is available for potential individual clients, such as business owners and representatives for a company, who are interested in GRIIT’s services to complete and submit. This information helps the main adviser to determine the best short, medium and long-term approach to meet the potential client’s needs.
Connect With Us
GRIIT offers first-time potential clients a complimentary exploratory session, during which a consultant and the potential client will discuss the latter’s interests and needs based on answers provided in the Intake Questionnaire, identify areas where GRIIT can assist, and present an action plan. Request for a follow-up exploratory session after the complimentary session will require a minimal fee per hour that must be paid upfront. Should the potential client decide to move forward by signing a retainer agreement, he/she can use the follow-up session fee as a credit toward the deposit to retain GRIIT’s services. Click here to schedule your complimentary consultation today.
Workshops and Training
Participants leave our workshops and training sessions with credible information about at least one overseas market to get start with the export planning and execution processes.
Our workshops range from a general overview of the export/import process to in-depth focus on specific aspects of international trade (e.g., building your capacity to trade). The workshops are designed for agricultural producers, manufacturers, and service providers. Our workshops are conducted in English and Spanish.
In-person/Virtual Workshop
- Introductory guide to exporting a good or service
- Identifying the BEST market for your product or service
- Free tools for market analysis
- Components of a global strategy
- Resources to minimize risks (e.g., funding/payment, logistics, legal, taxes, regulatory compliance)
Half-Day Workshops
- Introduction to exporting goods and services
- Utilizing existing resources to research an overseas market
- Tips for identifying the best market for your good or service
- Components of a global strategy
- Tips to minimize your risks in the global market
Full-Day Workshop
- Introduction to exporting goods and services
- Utilizing existing resources to research an overseas market
- Systematic approach to identifying the best market for your good or service
- Creating a basic export plan
- Developing an export/import roadmap
- 1:1 Export ready assessment and recommendations
Trade Tips
Trade On Tuesday @2!
Insight into trade policy and strategy by GRIIT President and CEO Sarita D. Jackson, PhD and our network of trusted advisors (university professors, management consultants, and international business attorneys, among others) Watch all Trade on Tuesdays@2 episodes with key tips.
Testimonials
Pricing Plans
We offer competitive prices with flexible payment plans to fit your budget.
Basic Plan
- 1- Hour Consultation
- 1-1 Insight Question/Session
Pro Plan
(Savings of 33% off hourly rate or savings of $100 per hour)- 4 monthly sessions 1 hour each
- 1-1 personal level guidance
- Implementation roadmap
- Accountability framework
Premium Plan
(Savings of 50% off hourly rate or $150 per hour savings)- 8 monthly sessions 1 hour each
- 1-1 personal level guidance
- Implementation roadmap
- Accountability framework
- Connection to resources and individuals within the network to execute import/export plan
Blogs
Internship Opportunity
The Global Research Institute of International Trade (GRIIT) is a think tank and consulting firm that offers internships in Los Angeles, CA. Interns collaborate with GRIIT for a maximum of 20 hours per week.
The internship program is designed to provide students and recent graduates with an opportunity to learn about international trade from a political, economic and legal perspective as well as apply research skills to any given project. Additionally, interns will have the opportunity to experience the operation of a company through the opportunity to assist with the supporting areas of GRIIT.
Eligibility: A candidate must be a graduate student, an undergraduate student, in a certificate program, or have graduated from a college/university within 12 months of beginning the internship.
Other eligibility requirements include:
- Proficiency in English (reading, writing and speaking)
- Having passed courses related to international trade and global business
- Advanced-level research and writing skills
- Basic familiarity with international trade databases
Professional Learning Activities:
- Assist with business strategy development and management
- Research using international trade, other government and scholarly databases
- Provide data for use in projects for clients and research reports
- Collect information for grant and contract proposals
- Assist with marketing
- Contribute to the enhancement of the social media strategy and website content
General Information:
Interns are expected to work a maximum of 20 hours a week during an 11–15-week internship period. Internships are non-paid and are offered throughout the Winter, Spring, Summer, and Fall Quarters/Semesters. Interns may receive academic credit at the intern’s college or university
Application Procedures and Deadlines:
In order to be considered for an internship, you must submit the following items:
- Signed and complete application form
- Cover letter
- Resume
- Writing sample
- Academic transcript (most recent university/college)
- Access and submit an electronic application by clicking here.
(Note: Supplemental material should be e-mailed to griit@griit.com)
Or for more information and to receive an application via mail/e-mail, contact:
(310) 912-7950
The Global Research Institute of International Trade (GRIIT) is an affirmative action/equal employment opportunity employer. Discrimination because of race, color, religion, sex, handicap, sexual orientation or national origin is prohibited.
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Contact Information
Global Research Institute of International Trade
1171 S Robertson Blvd #387
Los Angeles, CA 90035
(310) 912-7950
griit@griit-org.com
