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Working with Your Trade Commissioner

The success of your trade or investment mission depends on the quality of your partnership with the Trade Commissioner at the post to be visited. When the partnership works well, the mission is more successful and our mutual clients - the business participants on the mission - will be more successful in achieving their objectives.

As in any business relationship, understanding the partner's roles and responsibilities is key, as each party contributes something different.

Role of the Trade Commissioner

* The Trade Commissioner will manage the logistical arrangements and substantive input for your mission in the foreign market. He or she will perform some of that work directly (e.g., briefings, supplying contact lists) and will supervise other work performed by local contractors (e.g., management of logistics, local transportation, interpreters).

Role of the Mission Organizer

* The Mission Organizer is responsible for arrangements in Canada. These include:

• defining the overall structure and objectives of the mission;
• ensuring that the interests of the mission leader (e.g., a Cabinet Minister) are met;
• recruiting the right businesses to participate; and
• ensuring that the participants are prepared to take full advantage of the mission.

Good communication is vital. You should contact the overseas post early (even if the mission is still tentative) to provide as much advance notice as possible. Once a Mission Organizer has notified a Trade Commissioner, he or she should stay in close contact with the post to facilitate arrangements and monitor progress.

BEST PRACTICES FOR ORGANIZING A TRADE MISSION

The key elements of a successful trade mission are often determined before it leaves Canada. The Mission Organizer, for example, plays an essential role by inviting the right kind of firms to participate, defining the focus of the mission and the markets to be visited. Here are a few points to keep in mind:

* Give the mission a specific industry / sectoral focus appropriate to the market. The Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade (DFAIT) can provide information on sectoral priorities in most foreign markets. Missions that try to cover too many industries are seldom as effective as those with a more specific focus which is appropriate to the market. A mission linked to a trade fair, conference or other local business event in the target market is often most effective.

* Choose the right companies to participate by discouraging those that have not researched and selected their target markets. Missions are more effective when the participating firms complement each other, offering a wider range of products or services in a particular sector.

* Make sure the participating companies research the market and think through their objectives for participation before the visit occurs.

* Confirm early with the post or the relevant geographic division in DFAIT that the proposed dates for the mission are suitable.

* Allow plenty of lead-time for initiating contact with DFAIT and posts abroad - at least eight weeks before your departure.

Following these guidelines is important. If the basics are not right, even enthusiasm and a generous budget will not be sufficient for a productive and successful mission.

Policy and Principles

* Definition of a Trade or Investment Mission.

A mission normally comprises a visit by representatives from two or more businesses or organizations led by a Minister and/or officials from, for example, a federal, provincial or municipal government, educational institution, or an industry association. It typically requires preparation of a fairly extensive program of meetings and events outside the Embassy or Consulate. If there are doubts about whether a particular visit should be treated as a mission, the post in question can provide further guidance.

* Confidentiality.

The Trade Commissioner Service will attempt to ensure the confidentiality of participant information in the planning and execution of trade and investment missions. This includes work performed by third parties on behalf of the mission.

* Charging.

The guiding principle for fees is simple. All personal costs incurred by participants, such as food, accommodation, air travel and so on, are the responsibility of the Mission Organizer. The Mission Organizer may ask participants to pay these costs directly.

Many, if not all, logistical costs incurred by the Trade Commissioner on behalf of the mission are subject to cost recovery from the Mission Organizer at least four weeks before the mission's arrival. Logistical arrangements, including the services of a logistics coordinator, will normally be contracted by the Trade Commissioner. However, the Trade Commissioner will assume overall responsibility for local arrangements by providing general direction to the logistics coordinator. In partnership with the Mission Organizer, the Trade Commissioner will work to ensure effective implementation of a mission program.

* Inability to Assist.

Posts may not be able to assist if the proposed dates for the mission conflict with the arrival of other trade and investment missions, if the post's resources are temporarily focused on other activities or if the proposed mission coincides with religious or national holidays. Arrangements can normally be made for assistance from the post at another time.

The Notification and Letter of Understanding, which is to be signed by the Mission Organizer, establishes fairly precise deadlines for contributions or inputs in the lead-up to the mission. Failure to observe these deadlines will mean that the post may not be able to provide full and effective service.

* Flexibility.

While the Trade Commissioner Service has adopted a standardized, world-wide approach to the management of trade and investment missions, special circumstances may require a different approach. Please note any such circumstances when forwarding your Notification and Letter of Understanding to the post.

Investment Partnering

Time-frames for investment partnering events are often established by the local organization that is managing the event in the foreign market and may be significantly different from those we have outlined here. If organizing a mission focussed on investment partnering, check with the Trade Commissioner about time-frames well ahead of time.