#HOTCS: Marcel Lebleu, Bogota
“Being able to contribute to the success of businesses, and in turn to Canada’s prosperity, is what motivates me most about my job. I joined the Trade Commissioner Service (TCS) many years ago. I’ve been posted to several places since, including Yaoundé (Cameroun), San José (Costa-Rica), Buenos Aires (Argentina), Madrid (Spain) and Montreal. In 2015, I became the Canadian Ambassador to Chile, and now, I am Canada’s Ambassador to Colombia.
Here are three things you can expect when working with a trade commissioner:
- Trade commissioners are trained to be experts in their particular market.
- Your trade commissioner will give you a realistic financial picture of doing business abroad, and prepare you for circumstances you can’t always foresee. Whether it’s legal fees, translation, registration for trade shows, travel, etc., often new exporters will minimize these costs when creating their business plans.
- Lastly, your trade commissioner will always tell you if there is a better market out there for your business. Having that expert opinion can help mitigate an exporter’s risk and open new doors they would have never considered before.”
