The U.S. beer industry accounts for 233 million hl of the world's 1,501 million hl and is a dynamic part of the U.S. national economy, contributing billions of dollars in wages and taxes. In the United States, the beer market represents nearly 50% of total alcohol volume, with the specialty and light imported beer segments driving growth. Heineken was founded in the United States in 1863 and quickly became the largest brewer in the world with 116.8 million barrels of beer sold. Heineken's number one position depends on the number of markets in which it is present with its products. Local markets are important, but international markets will offer greater growth opportunities. Beer export continues to increase year after year. In 2006 the increase was more than 18% compared to 2005. The United States exported approximately 34.4 million hl of beer in 2006 compared to 29.9 million hl in 2005. Heineken has been steadily expanding and recently acquired Hartin, the 4th largest brewer in China, and invested $33M in convertible bonds of Tsing Tao Brewery. Heineken's partnership with Budweiser in Italy allowed Budweiser to produce, market and distribute "Heineken" and to use Budweiser's distribution network in Europe. Heineken has been the most successful brewing company in Europe and the rest of the world thanks mainly to the quality of the beer. their product, their marketing/advertising and their sponsorship capabilities. They annually sponsor the largest sporting event, the Champion's League (a football tournament) in Europe. With matches broadcast around the world every two weeks, Heineken has been their main sponsor for numerous years. The frequency and reach they achieve through the tournament is every marketer's dream as the tournament is played for nine months of the year. Language and culture are problematic issues when it comes to international marketing. When a company enters global markets it faces many issues, which do not exist when it comes to the local market. Language is one of the problems and is always a challenge. Even though English is spoken all over the world, in most cases it cannot be used as the language for an international campaign. Therefore the translation of the campaign into the foreign language is very important. Some English words have no corresponding words in most foreign languages, so there are problems with exact translation. More words may be needed to present the same message in a different language.