Also called trade commissioner, Global Affairs Canada
What is the Trade Commissioner Service?
Canadian government staff in embassies abroad whose job is finding and vetting customers and partners for Canadian exporters.
What else it is called
- Other names
- trade commissioner, Global Affairs Canada
- In French
- Service des délégués commerciaux
Related entries
Understanding trade Commissioner Service
Canadian trade commissioners sit in missions abroad and in regional offices at home, and their function is to help Canadian companies sell into their market. They provide market assessments, identify and qualify potential buyers, distributors and agents, advise on local practice and regulation, and make introductions.
The part worth the call is due diligence on a counterparty. Finding a distributor in a market you do not know is not hard; knowing whether they are solvent, reputable and actually selling into the channel they claim is very hard from Canada, and a trade commissioner in that country can usually tell you.
The service is free and it is not a lead-generation agency. Companies that arrive with a defined product, a chosen market and a specific question get a great deal out of it. Companies that arrive asking where they should export generally do not.
In practice
Before signing an exclusive distribution agreement in a market you have never visited, ask the trade commissioner there what they know about the company. That conversation has saved manufacturers years.
Frequently asked
What does it cost?
Nothing. It is a government service funded to support Canadian exporters. Some specialized programmes and trade missions have participation costs, but the core advice and introductions do not.