The Trade Commissioner Service in United Kingdom helps Canadian companies export their products, services or technologies to this dynamic market.
Doing Business with the United Kingdom
Enormous opportunities await the Canadian entrepreneur in the UK marketplace. Canada and the United Kingdom share a special relationship with the UK representing Canada's third-largest export market worldwide and our most important market in Europe. The UK also represents Canada's second most important source of direct foreign investment and tourism. As a major partner in the management of international economic relations, Britain is also an important market for Canadian private and public sector borrowing, and a favoured point of entry for Canadian businesses into the European Union.
Trade Promotion
The United Kingdom commercial relationship is by every measure the most extensive Canada has in Europe. It is also Canada's third largest export market, after the USA and Japan. More than one-third of Canada's exports to the European Union (EU-15) are sold in the UK. In 2005, Canada exported C$8.1 billion worth of merchandise goods to Britain, 5.7% more than in the previous year. Imports from Britain were valued at C$10.4 billion, a 7.6% increase over 2004, bringing total bilateral trade to just over C$18.5 billion.
The profile of Canadian exports to Britain is steadily changing towards value-added products, with markets growing rapidly for consumer items, processed foods, aerospace, telecommunications products, information technology and biotechnology. Trade in environmental and health products is also increasing. Resources, such as lumber and minerals, are still important but less so than in earlier decades.
Science and Technology
A mature Science & Technology (S&T) relationship exists between Canada and the UK, largely due to cultural, linguistic, personal and historical ties. There is no formal overarching government-to-government S&T cooperation agreement, although many bi-lateral agreements have been signed at an agency-to-agency level and a thriving network exists between researchers in most scientific disciplines. Recent statistics suggest that Britain is the second scientific and technological partner of Canada (second only to the US), as measured by the number of joint publications and patents respectively, and that the extent of this collaboration has increased significantly over the past decade. More than 25% of all scientific collaborations between Canada and the UK are in the area of clinical research with another 15 % in biomedical research, and the earth sciences and physics are other areas of particular strength. Excellence in research can be found across the UK in almost all scientific disciplines and so opportunities for collaboration are countless. The key research priorities for the UK include genomics, stem cells, e-science, basic technologies, sustainable energy, and the rural economy and land use. These areas are receiving increased funding and are seeing collaborative networks being established which may serve as potential partners in the future.
The High Commission in London actively supports Canadian researchers looking to collaborate with their British colleagues by providing intelligence and helping to arrange visits, fact finding, promotional seminars, joint workshops etc. Over the past few years, the High Commission has hosted senior-level delegates from a large variety of provincial and federal research organisations and universities, and has helped introduce Canadian scientists and policy makers to their most appropriate UK counterparts. The S&T group at the High Commission also focuses on technology transfer, and maintains close links with tech transfer offices at academic institutions across the country.
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Your nearest Regional Office of the Trade Commissioner Service in Canada provides export assistance to help you identify potential markets and develop your international business plans.
