Coat of arms: the official coat of arms of the Canadian monarch and thus also of Canada is closely modelled after the royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom with French and distinctive Canadian elements replacing or added to those derived from the British version.
The maple leaves in the shield, blazoned «proper», were originally drawn vert (green) but were redrawn gules (red) in 1957 and a circlet of the Order of Canada was added to the arms for limited use in 1987. The shield design forms the monarch's royal standard and is also found on the Canadian Red Ensign. The Flag of the Governor General of Canada, which formerly used the shield over the Union Flag, now uses the crest of the arms on a blue field.
- Anthem: «O Canada» is the national anthem of Canada. The song was originally commissioned by Lieutenant Governor of Quebec Théodore Robitaille for the 1880 Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day ceremony; Calixa Lavallée composed the music, after which, words were written by the poet and judge Sir Adolphe-Basile Routhier. The original lyrics were in French; an English translation was published in 1906.
- Official languages: English, French.
- Geographical location: it is a country located in the northern part of North America. Canada's southern border with the United States is the world's longest bi-national land border. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic to the Pacific and northward into the Arctic Ocean.
- Administrative divisions: Canada is a federation composed of ten provinces and three territories.
- Capital: Ottawa.
- Governance: Canada is a constitutional monarchy, in which the monarch is head of state. In practice, the executive powers is directed by the Cabinet, a committee of ministers of the Crown responsible to the elected House of Commons of Canada and chosen and headed by the Prime Minister of Canada. Canada is described as a «full democracy», with a tradition of liberalism, and an egalitarian, moderate political ideology. Canada has a parliamentary system within the context of a constitutional monarchy, the monarchy of Canada being the foundation of the executive, legislative, and judicial branches. The direct participation of the royal and viceroyal figures in areas of governance is limited. In practice, their use of the executive powers is directed by the Cabinet, a committee of ministers of the Crown responsible to the elected House of Commons of Canada and chosen and headed by the Prime Minister of Canada.
- Population: 35.85 million.
- Currency: Canadian dollar.
- GDP $1.55 trillion.
- Time zone: GMT -5.
- Telephone code: +1.
- Barcode: 00 — 13.
Economy review
Canada is one of the most active participants in the WTO, which largely determines the country's foreign trade policy, and when concluding international agreements, it consistently acts from the standpoint of removing barriers to mutual trade, reducing the number of bureaucratic procedures, increasing transparency and improving market access.
Considering the possibility of organizing export of products to Canada, it should be borne in mind that this country is recognized as a medium-sized economy. The share of Canada in the total gross domestic product of the NAFTA / USMCA countries is about 8%. At the same time, the Canadian market is saturated with high quality products and is characterized by fairly developed competition.
Entry of Belarusian products to the Canadian market, as a rule, is associated with high risks, significant costs for conformity assessment and promotion of goods, as well as high transport costs.
At the initial stage, in order to determine the possibility and feasibility of bringing their products to the Canadian market, Belarusian exporters are recommended to carry out a marketing study of the state of the relevant market in Canada and its provinces (territories).
To estimate the volume of supplies of a particular product to the Canadian market, it is convenient to use the Trade Data Online statistical system posted on the website of the Ministry of Innovation, Science and Economic Development of Canada. It should be noted that the market for consulting services in the field of marketing research is quite developed in Canada. When choosing a provider of such services, it is advisable to be guided by the data of the respective ratings. One of the authors of such ratings is the Clutch company, which has posted on its website a list of reputable companies conducting market research in the host country.
When considering the feasibility of supplying goods from the Republic of Belarus, it is necessary to take into account the customs regime and import duties in force in Canada with respect to our country. The customs tariff is publicly available on the Canada Border Services Agency website.
In the area of non-tariff regulation of foreign trade activities, Canada uses a national system of conformity assessment. The functions of ensuring the functioning of the standardization system are carried out by the Federal Royal Corporation Standards Council of Canada (SCC, Canadian Standards Council). This corporation is accountable to the Parliament of Canada and in a number of areas of activity is controlled by the Ministry of Innovation, Science and Economic Development of Canada.
The Canadian Council for Standardization is a member of such international industry organizations as the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), the International Accreditation Forum (IAF), International Cooperation on accreditation of laboratories (International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation, ILAC) and a number of others. In addition, the Standards Council of Canada also serves as the national accreditation body.
The website of the Canadian Council for Standardization contains lists of accredited bodies that carry out work to assess the conformity of products and services to the established requirements, as well as lists of accredited bodies for assessing the conformity of quality systems. Additionally, on the website of the specified royal corporation, you can apply for the purchase of standards that establish mandatory requirements for the application and implementation of technical regulation objects.
After conducting research and making a fundamental decision on the feasibility of supplying products to the Canadian market, active work is required to find and attract importers and distributors from Canada. To find potential partners, it is advisable to use the databases of the Ministry of Innovation, Science and Economic Development of Canada (database of importing companies, database of Canadian companies), as well as paid services provided by specialized consulting companies.
It should be noted that the main instrument for expanding business contacts in Canada remains the active participation of domestic enterprises with the assistance of the Belarusian Embassy in Canada in international and national industry exhibition and fair events, which are held in the host country on a regular basis. Participation in such events will allow you to quickly establish personal contacts with a potential partner, hold a presentation of your products and, in case of mutual interest, discuss the terms of cooperation.
From the conjuncture of the main markets for goods and services in Canada, it follows that for Belarusian exporters when doing business in the Canadian market, there are a number of constraining factors, which can be summarized as follows:
• availability in Canada of its own developed industrial base, based on a high level of technology development;
• relatively small capacity of the Canadian market and the application of technical regulations to the products of other countries;
• a high degree of dependence of the state of the Canadian market on the US economy and imports from this country;
• a significant transport component in the price of products delivered from Belarus;
• low recognition of Belarusian brands (with the exception of the trade mark of tractor equipment "Belarus") due to Canada's course for a long time (2006 - 2017) to curb the development of bilateral economic cooperation, on the one hand, and the lack of funding for marketing work by Belarusian enterprises, on the other.
Belarus's most promising products to export to Canada:
|
№ |
Commodity item |
HS Code |
|
1 |
Vehicles with an internal combustion engine with spark ignition and reciprocating piston, with a cylinder displacement of more than 1,500 cm3, but not more than 3,000 cm3 |
870323 |
|
2 |
Other motor vehicles for the transport of goods with a piston internal combustion engine with spark ignition with a gross vehicle weight of not more than 5 tons |
870431 |
|
3 |
Vehicles with an internal combustion engine with spark ignition and reciprocating piston, with a cylinder displacement of more than 3000 cm3 |
870324 |
|
4 |
Other body parts and accessories (including cabs) |
870829 |
|
5 |
Other parts and accessories for motor vehicles of headings 8701 - 8705 |
870899 |
|
6 |
Wheel tractors for semi-trailers |
870120 |
|
7 |
Data processing units other than those described in subheading 8471 41 or 8471 49, whether or not containing in one housing one or two of the following devices: storage devices, input devices, output devices |
847150 |
|
8 |
Control panels, panels, consoles, tables, switchboards and bases for electrical equipment for voltage not exceeding 1000 V |
853710 |
Promising commodity items of Belarusian exports to Canada
|
Commodity item |
HS Code |
|
Other engines and power plants |
8412 |
|
Electric motors and generators |
8501 |
|
Diodes, Transistors, and Semiconductors |
8541 |
|
Electronic integrated circuits |
8542 |
|
Binoculars, monoculars, other telescopes and their fittings |
9005 |
|
X-ray equipment |
9022 |
|
Instruments and apparatus for measuring and controlling the characteristics of liquids and gases |
9026 |
|
Instruments and apparatus for physical or chemical analysis |
9027 |
|
Instruments and devices for automatic regulation and control |
9032 |
|
Polycarboxylic acids, their derivatives |
2917 |
|
Paints and varnishes based on synthetic polymers in a non-aqueous medium |
3208 |
|
Paints and varnishes based on synthetic polymers in the aquatic environment |
3209 |
|
Putties |
3214 |
|
Printing ink |
3215 |
|
Lubricants |
3403 |
|
Insecticides, herbicides |
3808 |
|
Antiknock, antioxidants, inhibitors, thickeners |
3811 |
|
Other polyacetals and polyesters, epoxy resins |
3907 |
|
Amino-aldehyde, phenol-aldehyde resins and polyurethanes |
3909 |
|
Reciprocating internal combustion engines |
8408 |
|
Parts for internal combustion engines |
8409 |
|
Liquid pumps |
8413 |
|
Air or vacuum pumps, compressors and fans |
8414 |
|
Equipment for heat treatment of materials |
8419 |
|
Centrifuges, equipment and devices for filtering liquids or gases |
8421 |
|
Machines and mechanical devices for special purposes |
8479 |
|
Pipe Fittings |
8481 |
|
Bearings |
8482 |
|
Remotes, panels, tables for electrical equipment |
8537 |
|
Trailers and semi-trailers |
8716 |
|
Instruments and devices used in medicine |
9018 |
|
Plates, sheets, plastic film non-porous, unreinforced, non-laminated, without backing |
3920 |
|
Other plates, sheets, plastic film |
3921 |
|
Woven synthetic fabrics |
5407 |
|
Track and signal equipment |
8608 |
|
Gas, liquid and electricity meters |
9028 |
|
Dump trucks designed for off-road use |
870410 |
|
Tractors (except for tractors of position 8709), others with an engine power of more than 37 kW, but not more than 75 kW |
870193 |
|
Pine treated timber |
440711 |
|
Other wooden furniture |
940360 |
|
Parts of furniture made of metal, of wood, of other materials |
940390 |
|
Raw rapeseed oil |
151411 |
|
Bituminous coal |
270112 |
|
Vehicles with an internal combustion engine with spark ignition and reciprocating piston, with a cylinder displacement of more than 1,500 cm3, but not more than 3,000 cm3 |
870323 |
|
Other tractors with an engine power of more than 75 kW, but not more than 130 kW |
870194 |
|
Wheel tractors for semi-trailers |
870120 |
|
Other dairy products not flavored or flavored, with or without sugar, with or without fruit, nuts or cocoa |
040390 |
|
Milk and cream, not concentrated without sugar or other sweetening matter, with a fat content of more than 1 wt.%, but not more than 6 wt.% |
040120 |
|
Other cuts of cattle, boneless, frozen |
020230 |
|
Chipboards |
441011 |
|
Oriented wood chip boards (OSB) |
441012 |
|
Coniferous wood chips or shavings |
440121 |
|
Other mixtures of other aromatic hydrocarbons, 65% vol. Of which or more (including losses) are distilled at temperatures up to 250 degrees Celsius according to the astm d 86 method |
270750 |
|
Boneless meat of cattle, fresh or chilled |
020130 |
|
Sausages and similar products from meat, meat offal or blood, food products made on their basis |
160100 |
|
Parts of carcases and offal of domestic chickens, fresh or chilled |
020713 |
|
Fish fillet, dried, salted or in brine, but not smoked, other |
030539 |
This article has been prepared on the basis of information provided by the National Centre for Marketing and Price Study of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Embassy of the Republic of Belarus in Canada, and taken from public sources. The information presented herein is for informative purposes only. In this regard, it may be useful for the companies, which have been working in Canada for a long time, as well as for those, which are going to enter this market. Any questions, feedbacks and comments concerning this article are welcome. All of them will be fully considered and taken into account, if possible. If you have any information that may be interesting and useful for the visitors of this page, please write to us.
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