"When you're a journalist, you get inundated with pitches. Most are mass mailings inviting you to write about something you don't even cover. But a select few are right on target... "[PBN] knew what my view was -- what angle I would push. They did their homework and it paid off." -- Washington Post Editorial Writer Sebastian Mallaby, in a recent interview in Media Relations Insider.

And paid off it did. PBN's work with The Washington Post resulted in an editorial strongly opposing U.S. trade restrictions on imported steel.

This is just one example of the results The PBN Company is generating in our efforts to promote policies and laws that ensure free trade, global economic integration and increased investment opportunities on both sides of the Atlantic. All PBN offices worldwide are actively involved in major bilateral and multilateral trade and economic issues.

In Washington, D.C., The PBN Company continues to be at the forefront of the top trade issues -- fighting tariffs, quotas and other trade restrictions that provide special protection to certain U.S. industries at the expense of U.S. companies who need access to imported goods. In Russia, Ukraine and the Baltic States, PBN continues its work to establish policies that fully integrate the region into the global economy. In Europe, PBN has been sponsoring forums to bring together Russian and European business leaders to discuss common economic and business objectives, such as insurance reform.

This issue of Access PBN reports on four recent important events to advance our clients' economic and trade policy objectives. The first is a hearing of the U.S. Congress tying counterfeiting to funding terrorism. The second is an investigation by the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) to study the impact of the Bush Administration's steel tariffs on steel consumers -- a major victory for U.S. steel consuming companies, a long-time PBN client. On June 26, PBN partners took part in a Geneva-based international conference of international and Russian business leaders on insurance reform in Russia. And, finally, PBN recently sponsored a breakfast discussion in Moscow of a high-level State Department official on issues ranging from Iraq and terrorism to U.S. visa policy and WTO accession.

"Whether it's the debate over trade restrictions in the U.S. or integrating the economies in transition in the former Soviet Union, PBN is in the thick of these issues. Clients and allies who are fighting for further economic openness and integration have been proud of our collective accomplishments over the past year, while still understanding that much remains to be done," says Susan Thurman, PBN's President and COO.