Thank you, Mr. Chair. Bonjour à tous.
It's a pleasure to be back before the committee today on behalf of the Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters to take part in your consultations on the Canadian Trade Commissioner Service.
This year marks CME's 140th anniversary. Our association's inception dates back to December 1871 in Toronto, when a handful of manufacturers in a gaslit room decided to found the Canadian Manufacturers' Association. Only a few years later, in the 1890s, CMA, as we were known at the time, founded the forerunner of the Canadian Trade Commissioner Service. You could say our interest in having commercial representation in countries where our members do business goes back a very long time.
While the role of the trade commissioner service has evolved over the years to keep up with changing business needs, it continues to play a very critical role in ensuring the success of Canadian companies in markets around the globe—and we'll hear from some examples today.
In my opening remarks, I'd like to say a few words about why we think the trade commissioner service is more relevant today than it has ever been, what its role needs to be today and in the future, and what it can do to continue to improve the services it provides to Canadian manufacturers and exporters.
First of all, I want to put on the record that we believe that the trade commissioner service is more important than ever before to the success of Canadian businesses and of the Canadian economy. The changing nature of manufacturing and international business makes it critical for Canadian companies to be globally competitive and able to connect with global supply chains. As manufacturers increasingly invest in innovation and become more agile, specialized, and able to serve niche markets, the more they need to find customers, suppliers, and business partners everywhere around the world.
Moreover, given the current economic slowdown affecting the North American and European economies, given the increased risk of doing business in the United States, and given the need to find new customers and partners around the world, the business case for having a vast global network of trade commissioners in some 270 locations in over 180 countries is stronger today than it has ever been, in our opinion.
As to what we think the role of the service needs to be today and in the future, in general terms, I think we should view it as a partner working with companies toward the objectives of growing sales in existing and new markets, facilitating Canadian foreign direct investments abroad, attracting and retaining foreign investments here in Canada, and helping Canadian businesses cooperate with other companies in foreign markets in areas such as technology, innovation, or venture capital.
The types of services that we need trade commissioners to continue to provide on the ground include a number of things. I won't go into too much detail, but these include things around providing market intelligence, connecting businesses with the right people in target markets, advocating on behalf of Canadian companies when we need the government to address a market access issue or when we need the government to support a Canadian company directly in a foreign market. Finally, we also use the trade commissioner service regularly as a first point of contact for connecting companies with the federal and provincial services available to exporters. In other words, you'll call up a trade commissioner because you have a relationship with them, but they'll sometimes connect you with services provided by other departments and sometimes other governments.
Many of these services are provided on a transactional basis, but I think as Canadian companies become more established in markets around the world, we see a growing need for more sophisticated, relationship-based services. That's especially true in markets like the United States, where it's important for Canadian companies to diversify their sales into new markets. But we also need to maintain our position in markets like the United States where we already have a strong foothold and face stronger competition. I won't go into too much detail, as we can talk about this a little bit later, but some of these relationship-based services include things like advocacy, investment attraction and retention, setting up innovation networks, and helping Canadian firms connect with global value chains.
I want to say a few words about advocacy, especially in the United States. We've been hearing lately about the Buy American issues that Canadian companies are facing. This is just one example of the very valuable service that trade commissioners have been playing throughout the United States over the last several years, not only helping companies to get waivers and working with local governments to ensure that Canadian companies continue to have access to local procurement markets, but also by advocating on behalf of Canada. As you know, all politics is local in the United States. Having trade commissioners and representation in various parts of the United States developing local allies and getting our message out, I think, has been critical, not only for companies affected by Buy American issues but also, for example, for ensuring future development in the oil sands.
I know you want to hear from some of your other guests, but we would first like to make some recommendations on the future of the trade commissioner service. Historically, the service has shown a willingness and an ability continually to improve its performance and meet the changing needs of Canadian businesses, but I think there are a number of recommendations we can make. There's a bit of a need for better coordination with new trade agreements. I think the implementation of a free trade agreement often provides Canadian companies with a comparative advantage in foreign markets. I think we need to leverage the attention that a new FTA brings us to help grow a Canadian presence in these foreign markets where we do have FTAs.
Colombia is a really good example. We've seen a number of Colombian companies look to Canada because we now have an FTA with them, and the United States doesn't. The United States will have one soon, but I think we've got a bit of an advantage there that we need to capitalize on.
I'll end my remarks there. We have some other recommendations and we'll be pleased to provide them to you in writing. I'm pretty sure my time is close to being up so I'll leave the floor to the other guests. We'll be pleased to answer any questions you may have.