The U.S. Commercial Service of the U.S. Embassy in Ottawa, Canada, is organizing a special three-day event which will provide small and medium-sized U.S. high technology firms with sales, networking and strategic alliance opportunities in the Canadian information technology industry. The event will involve one day of pre-qualified appointments with Canadian technology firms, and two days of participation in the annual conference of the Canadian Advanced Technology Association (CATA) in Ottawa. U.S. Participants will receive these two events for one integrated price of US$800. This event will be developed in partnership with CATA, the Ottawa-Carleton Economic Development Corporation (OCEDCO), and the Canadian Trade Commissioners Service in Washington and Santa Clara.
The U.S.-Canada trading relationship is the largest in the world, with total trade surpassing US$ one billion per day. Under the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), U.S. firms enjoy preferential tariff treatment and secured market access not found anywhere outside of North America. Common language and business practices, combined with a high receptivity to U.S. goods and services and close proximity to the United States all serve to make Canada an excellent export destination for U.S. high technology small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Since the Ottawa region is home to Canada's largest concentration of advanced technology companies and is commonly know in Canada as "Silicon Valley North", this event will be designed to heighten U.S. awareness of commercial opportunities and create new trade opportunities for U.S. firms in this region.
The goal of Spring '98 High-Tech Dealmaker is to provide an inexpensive and integrated trade development program for small and medium sized U.S. technology firms. Dealmaker appointments will focus on: increasing U.S.-Canada sales, finding Canadian agents and distributors, establishing joint ventures and strategic alliance partners, and investigating licensing and technology transfer opportunities. Due to the joint recruitment efforts of CS Ottawa and it's Canadian and U.S. event partners (CATA, OCEDCO, the Canadian Trade Commissioner Service, the Information Technology Teams in the Eastern and Western Regions), this event is expected to produce a strong group of U.S. and Canadian participants with high potential for success stories.
U.S. firms will be charged a fee of US$800.00 to participate in a minimum of four pre-qualified meetings with Canadian firms and government agencies arranged by the Commercial Service in Ottawa, and the CATA annual conference. This low cost for both events has been made possible by CATA, which will discount it's conference price by 60 percent for U.S. participants in Spring '98 High-Tech DealMaker. CS Ottawa will plan a mission briefing for participating U.S. firms, to be followed by private appointments, with a public networking luncheon sponsored by OCEDCO, an evening reception sponsored CATA and hosted by the Canadian Minister of Industry on Parliament Hill. In addition to these events, participants will also attend two days of seminars, keynotes and networking dinners at the CATA conference. Advance recruitment for DealMaker's pre-qualified appointments will be facilitated by access to CATA's "Technogate" on-line strategic alliance database.
Spring '98 High-Tech Dealmaker will take place on June 2, 1998, and the CATA annual conference will take place on June 3-4, 1998. The Commercial Service and CATA will be fully involved in each program and will be available to assist U.S. participants in creating business opportunities. Participating U.S. companies are expected to arrive in Ottawa no later than the evening of June 1, 1998 and will be able to depart for the U.S. following the conclusion of the formal program on June 4.
Recruitment of U.S. firms will include the use of the following information sources and methods: direct mail to 120 California technology companies, nationwide recruitment by the EACs, recruitment by members of the Western and Eastern IT Teams, joint recruitment by the State of Pennsylvania and the Council of Great Lake States Governors, as well as travel to Washington, D.C. for private recruitment meetings facilitated by the Greater Washington Initiative and the Canadian Embassy in Washington. Recruitment will close on March 31, 1998.
U.S. participants will be recruited from the following sectors computer: hardware, defense technology, energy and environmental technology, biotechnology, photonics and telecommunications. computer software (for business), subassemblies and components, and test and measurement equipment. Criteria for participation are as follows:
Any partisan political activities of an applicant, including political contributions, will be entirely irrelevant to the selection process.
Kevin d'Entremont
Commercial Specialist
U.S. Commercial Service (MS 35)
U.S. Embassy, Ottawa, Canada
P.O. Box 5000, Ogdensburg, NY
13669-0430
Tel: (613) 238-4470, ext. 409
Fax: (613) 238-5999
or
Deborah Anderson
U.S. Commercial Service
U.S. Department of Commerce
Washington, D.C.
Tel: (202) 482-2736
Fax: (202) 501-4585