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How Swede It Is Exporting to Sweden and more.

By Lynn Beresford

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

Suzanne Southard started Texas Trading in Dallas last fall,exporting clothing, accessories, sports equipment and snack foodsto finicky Swedish buyers. In just a few months, her homebasedcompany had racked up sales of $30,000. If you're thinking offollowing in 36-year-old Southard's footsteps and exporting toSweden, keep the following information in mind:

Sweden is an advanced, industrialized country whose imports andexports, in recent years, have comprised two-thirds of its grossdomestic product. The third-largest country in Europe, it'sgenerally thought of as a low-turmoil, superior export market.What's more, Swedes enjoy a high standard of living and canafford to purchase high-end, high-quality products.

Among the benefits of exporting to Sweden: The country hascomparatively reasonable tariff rates and the second-lowestcorporate tax rate in Europe. It's an open market and a memberof the European Union; as such, it provides access to 370 millionconsumers. Some business owners use Sweden as a gateway to emergingBaltic markets. However, a value-added tax is added to the cost ofyour product when it reaches the consumer; keep this in mind whenpricing your product.