Economic developer helps companies move export sights off U.S. and onto Japan, Mexico, Middle East
Manisha Arora, the director of trade for Edmonton Global, says that as Canadian businesses more seriously explore what export markets exist beyond the United States, they find the answers depend on what they export and their ability to adapt to different international standards.
"I definitely think that we've looked at the U.S. as a catchall, simply for logistical purposes," Arora told Taproot. "When we take a look at exporting outside of our borders, we look at what's the easiest and what's culturally the most similar for ease of business transactions."
For years that has meant the U.S. is Alberta's default trading partner. But as U.S. President Donald Trump continues to threaten (and change his mind on) tariffs of up to 25% on Canadian products, plus bonus tariffs on steel and aluminum, Edmonton Global has formed a Regional Tariff Ad Hoc Working Group to find ways for businesses in the region to adapt to the new realities.
Exporting is big business. The City of Edmonton's business census recently found that Edmonton companies that export employ twice the number of employees as those that do not. Zooming out to look at Alberta, in 2020, the province exported $77.5 billion in goods to the U.S., a transaction that doesn't just happen overnight — global trade is reliant on trust and relationships, Arora said.
As that trust changes, however, businesses need to diversify where they export, Arora said. A key part of that is developing the logistics to get products to new markets. Arora shared her insights on new export trade opportunities with countries that include Japan, South Korea, Mexico, Germany, and with regions that include the Middle East and South America.
"Because we have such a long-time trade relationship (with the U.S.), all those inroads have been developed over years and years and years," she said. "It's more challenging when you're going out across the pond to send your product there."
The learning curve is partly about legal standards for products, especially food and medicine. Arora offered the example of beef: To export it to Europe or Japan, she said, cattle would need to be raised differently, which will take time.
To change this is "not a one-year change, that is like a five-year change," she said. "It takes a lot for a company to actually do that because they are probably halting their production in something else to be able to do that, to send product to the European Union. It's a long-term investment that some companies just can't afford to do."
Arora gave Taproot details on what markets and products Edmonton Global has been building those relationships around.
