About the founder

Mr. de Leon is the Founder and President of Trade Connections International, a Washington, DC based international trade and business development consultancy which assists US companies work abroad, and foreign companies work in the US.


Trade Connections International elaborates business, marketing, project management and public relations strategies, seeks financing for projects, and gathers critical information for its clients.

Wednesday, January 1, 2020

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Recent and upcoming events

Week of June 20, 2011 (Chicago, IL)

Trade Connections International's President Philip H. de Leon will be attending the 47th Annual Meeting of the Drug Information Association


Week of March 28, 2011 (Phoenix, AZ)

Trade Connections International's President Philip H. de Leon participated in the 20th Partnerships in Clinical Trials as Vice President of Business Development for a client with EDC/CTMS solutions.


Week of February 14, 2011
(Budapest, Hungary)

Trade Connections International accompanied a client to a conference in Budapest, Hungary.


Week of December 13, 2010 (Washington, DC)

Trade Connections International's President gave a presentation at the Kennan Institute in Washington, DC on the Emerging Trends in Russian-American Trade Relations.


Weeks of November 29 and December 6, 2010
(Dushanbe, Tajikistan)

Trade Connections
International's President visited Tajikistan with a business partner in a fact finding mission to prepare a comprehensive report on this lesser known country of Central Asia. The visit included a meeting with H.E. President Emomali Rahmon (see site of the President of Tajikistan) as well as with many government officials and representatives of the private sector, foreign diplomatic representations, and international financial institutions. The report will be available in February/March 2011.

Week of August 30, 2010 (Washington, DC)

Trade Connections
International assists its client, a Russian software development company with strong expertise in the Health Care/Life Sciences sector, to sign a contract with the British office of a U.S. company.

Week of July 19, 2010
(Farnborough, UK)

Trade Connections
International organized a meeting with a Fortune 100 companies for one of its Eastern European clients at the Farnborough Air Show.

Week of June 7 , 2010
(Washington, DC and Philadelphia, PA)

Trade Connections
International represented a client at the Drug Information Association 46th Annual Meeting and made a presentation at Temple University on how the private sector is involved in US trade policy shaping/making.

Week of April 19, 2010
(Washington, DC)

Trade Connections International was represented at the Jordan - US Investment and Trade Forum and held several meetings. re. projects in the Middle East.

Week of March 8, 2010
(Washington, DC)

Trade Connections International was represented at the U.S. Export-Import Bank Annual Meeting that took place on March 11-12, 2010 with President Barack Obama as one of the main speakers.

Week of February 8, 2010
(Moscow, Russian Federation)

Trade Connections International attended the 3rd Annual Russia & Eurasia Trade and Investment Forum in Moscow, Russian Federation, February 8-9. Meetings with existing and potential clients were conducted during the week.

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Country Report on Tajikistan

In April 2011, a 20-page report on Tajikistan was published by the Washington Diplomat. The report, written by Trade Connections International LLC's President Philip H. de Leon, aims to raise the visibility of Tajikistan in the United States and abroad. The report contains interviews with the President of Tajikistan Emomali Rahmon, Minister of Foreign Affairs Hamrokhon Zarifi, the ambassadors of Tajikistan - the United States - and France, as well as articles on history, hydropower, banking, investment, transportation, tourism, development and internet resources.

This country report was written for and published by The Washington Diplomat. Click here to go to The Washington Diplomat website and here to go to the Tajikistan Report.

Saturday, January 8, 2011

A Trade Expert's Wish List for Good Commercial Diplomacy

This article focuses on how embassies in Washington, DC spare no efforts to promote their country but oftentimes will fail to capitalize on the interest they generated and to provide practical information once importers, exporters, business development managers or investors are hooked. This article goes over some of the issues and offers practical and easily actionable solutions.

This article was written for and published by the Diplomatic Courier. Click HERE to go to the Diplomatic Courier website.

US Protests Lack French Fire

RTAmerica - October 21, 2010 - France is paralyzed by protests around the country due to a proposal to raise the national retirement age. The country is coming to a complete stand still because of rioting citizens, could this ever happen in the United States?

Monday, June 7, 2010

Rusnano: is the nanotechnology boost generating results?

This article elaborates on the achievements of Rusnano (Russian Corporation of Nanotechnologies) which was created in 2007 by President Vladimir Putin to give Russia a leading position in the world market of nanotechnology products.

This article was published by MarchmontNews.com. Click HERE to read this article.

Tajikistan Energy Opportunities - An Interview with Tajikistan’s Ambassador to the United States

On 26 May, Tajikistan's Ambassador to the United States Abdujabbor Shirinov spoke openly about the energy and water shortages impacting the region, joint collaboration between Tajikistan and Afghanistan, the construction of a large hydro-power key to Tajikistan's energy security, and oil and gas exploration where preliminary assessments tend to show an untapped potential that could lead to the country's energy independence.

This article was written for and published by OilPrice.com. Click HERE to read this article.

Monday, April 26, 2010

Revolution in Central Asia: Who's Next?

Answering that question can be seen as a wild guess. However, understanding the reality of each of the five Central Asian countries can help the reader assess the present day situation and reach his own conclusion.

This article was written for and published by OilPrice.com. Click HERE to read this article.