Exporting to the United States – A Team Canada Inc Publication

Is This Guide for You?

Yes, it is, if your small- to medium-sized business has a product or service that you feel could compete in the United States. Even if you've already begun exporting to the U.S., we think you'll find information, tips and resources here that will help you succeed more quickly and easily in the U.S. market.

As you'll soon see, this guide isn't just another generic handbook about the conduct of foreign trade. While it does contain the basic information that is common to all exporting, its emphasis is firmly on the practical side of doing business in the United States. To take just a few examples, the guide will explore:

• tools you can use to analyze U.S. markets and their characteristics;
• the on-the-ground effects of NAFTA on Canadian exporters;
• product liability litigation in the U.S.;
• NAFTA and non-NAFTA classifications for cross-border travel to the U.S.;
• border security and how it affects Canadian exporters; and
• U.S. Customs procedures and regulations, and how to deal with them.

As you can see from the above, this guide assumes that you already have some basic knowledge of exporting. If you feel you need a more fundamental grounding in the subject, we'd like to recommend the Team Canada Inc (TCI) Step-by-Step Guide to Exporting, which provides a general exploration of international trade.

The U.S. market is vast, complex and highly competitive, and can be intimidating to enter. But thousands of Canadian enterprises – small, medium, and large – have been very successful south of the border. More join them every year, and there's no reason that your company can't be among them.