Carolyn Cross – CEO, Ondine Biomedical
If your B.C.-based business is not a commodity-oriented company relying on large, efficient markets, I believe that the best export markets for your products and services may lie outside of the traditional U.S. and Asian markets. My business, Ondine Biomedical Inc., is an innovation company developing disruptive medical devices. We have found that the U.S. and Asian markets, while alluring for their size, present formidable barriers including regulatory, legal and lack of easy access to distribution, in addition to blatant patent/intellectual property abuse. Innovation is rarely protected in Asia (or in the U.S. for that matter) and Canada’s lack of economies of scale makes competing against the large U.S. or Asian competitors difficult.
Non-commodity-oriented Canadian companies need to play to their strengths and rely on innovation, flexibility, high quality standards and reliability. Canadian knowledge of, and access to, the U.S. market is a key point of attraction to non-traditional partners. However, the “speed to trust” factor is a major asset as the word “Canada,” in most countries, implies high-quality products and services, ethical practices and trustworthiness.
Non-traditional partners can offset Canadian competitive disadvantages that are preventing us from succeeding in the larger, more developed markets. They open up a path to the sizable domestic markets we need, provide access to manufacturing facilities to make our goods competitive around the world, and foster long-term partnerships that will build on Canadian innovation and flexibility. These markets also provide Canadian innovators with different market perspectives, essential to helping us tap into the opportunities emerging in the developing nations.
Erin Chutter - CEO, Global Cobalt Corp.
BC-based companies are uniquely designed to seek investors, strategic partners and customers throughout North America and around the world due to our geography, language skills and adventurous spirit.
Even small companies can take advantage of opportunities in Europe and elsewhere with some creativity, determination and a focus on partnership and communications.
We have been able to develop local partnerships in engineering and investment in China, Mongolia, Kazakhstan and Russia.
In our experience, successful strategic business partnerships need some key ingredients:
•Alignment around common interests. Understand your prospective partner’s business needs.
•Patience and time. Rome wasn’t built in a day, and the best strategic partnership won’t be either. Success will come with building trust, and trust takes time, effort, energy and travel.
•Cultural translators. As a businesswoman from Vancouver, I had a lot to learn about working with international partners. We were fortunate to identify some key individuals along the way who helped smooth the path.
•Clear contracts. Despite great relationships and assistance on the way, a straightforward contract or agreement provides certainty and clarity to all parties.
Working internationally is very fulfilling in terms of expanding your team’s cultural understanding and willingness to take risks. The opportunities are vast for companies willing to travel outside their comfort zone to execute on their business objectives.
Jean-Christophe Fleury | Consul General of France in Vancouver
Canada has concluded a free trade agreement with the European Union: the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA). It is the first free trade agreement between two G7 members and the most ambitious and comprehensive transatlantic trade agreement reached to date.
The EU is the world’s largest economy and Canada’s second-largest trading partner, with a market of 500 million consumers.
While the EU is not one of British Columbia’s major trading partners, diversification of business relationships is a key component of innovation, economic growth and stability.
When a B.C. company invests in an EU country, it will be automatically treated in the same fashion as an investor from a European country.
As a result, it will benefit from the free movement of capital in a single currency and significant labour mobility – benefits that exist to an even greater extent than is found in Canada. CETA will eliminate tariffs on almost all of B.C.’s key exports.
While the proximity of the United States and the existence of the North American Free Trade Agreement is a natural driving force for trade between the U.S. and B.C., and while trade with Asia is a legitimate pursuit, France believes that the diversification of business relationships with other countries and trade zones, such as the EU, is an issue of strategic importance, not only because the EU is a large market and a free trade zone in and of itself, but also because it is a reliable jurisdiction with transparent and enforceable rules.
Paola Murillo | Director, Latincouver Cultural and Business Society
Although B.C.’s largest business relationships and economic trade relationships are with the U.S. and Asia, there are significant resource development and business opportunities for expanding trade relationships with Latin America. Yet, B.C. has been one of the few provinces in Canada that has not yet established an official business mission to Latin America.
B.C. is ideally located from a geographical location to leverage the movement of goods, services, resources and expertise with many of the Central and South American countries. B.C.-based companies could take advantage of other international trade agreements such as the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), the recent Pacific Alliance and the Trans Pacific Partnership. There are significant business development and economic opportunities that B.C.-based companies could benefit from through stronger trade relationships with Latin America in the natural resource development, high-tech, and manufacturing sectors.
By way of comparison, trade between Latin American and Asia has more than doubled over the past decade, and in 2014 reached US$500 billion. Trade between Latin America and Asia is projected to grow to at least US$750 billion by 2020.
Latin America is one of the fastest growing regions in the world with opportunities for new public infrastructure, such as transportation, electricity, housing, water supply, wastewater, and solid waste disposal. B.C. companies are well positioned to support these needs with resulting economic opportunities and trade benefits.
B.C. Minister of International Trade Teresa Wat has started the conversations in building stronger links with Latin America, however B.C.-based companies also need to take action by connecting with local Latin American consulates, building connections with local Latin Americans and learning about the market from specific industry to further understand the competitive advantage that B.C. plays as the business development and trade hub between Latin America, Asia, and the U.S.
