Trade Missions
Trade missions offer a proven cost-effective tool for helping U.S. companies learn first-hand about overseas markets by attending market briefings, visiting sales channels, and meeting face to face with qualified potential buyers, agents, distributors, and other business partners. There is no minimum size requirement for a company to participate in a trade mission. In fact, 71% of companies participating in trade missions in the last 3 years (2008-2011) have been small and medium sized companies (<500 employees). Small businesses can fund business development travel, including participation in a trade show or trade mission, through the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Export Express Program.
The Department of Commerce offers several types of trade missions, all of which include U.S. companies and usually include senior Commerce officials:
- Commercial missions seek to produce near-term export sales of U.S. goods and services from participating firms that travel as a group to one or more foreign markets. Some missions are planned specifically for small and medium-sized enterprises or for minority- and women-owned businesses.
- Market access missions seek to create commercial opportunities through the removal of trade barriers and opening of markets for U.S. businesses.
- Policy missions seek to advance U.S. bilateral or multilateral objectives across a range of issues, with the goal of enhancing overall economic and political relations.
- Combined missions embody aspects of two or more of the preceding three types of missions.
- Certified trade missions are organized by state and private sector trade promotion groups and are endorsed by the Department of Commerce.
These above described missions may focus on one or multiple industry sectors, may include one or more country stops, and may be government to business or business to business focused.
Comments? Questions?
Contact the trade missions Program Director: Sherry Lewis-Khanna at Sherry.Lewis-Khanna@trade.gov or 202-482-4519.
