OWIT-Toronto  recently partnered with the Belgian Canadian Business Chamber (BCBC) for a joint event on CETA, the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement with the European Union. Our President, Anita Agrawal, was among four panelists who, together, gave an excellent overview of CETA.  Owner of Best Bargains Jewellery and an exporter to over 20 countries, including those in Europe, Anita provided practical tips on how to sell abroad. These include:  hire a student to help do your research, access Canada’s Trade Commissioner Service for additional help, participate in trade missions,  attend chamber of commerce meetings to pick up tips, meet new contacts and find out about available government support, and visit the EU to start building relationships.

The session was moderated by Christian Frayssignes, VP,  BCBC. Other panelists covered the benefits for Canadian companies brought in by CETA, which is a very progressive agreement (Andrew Defor, VP, Canadian International Council, TO Branch),  the government procurement chapter in CETA (Pasquale  Madonna, Sr Consultant, Trade & Customs, KPMG), the support available to Ontario exporters from the government (Romi Jaszczynski , Sr Export Advisor, Ontario Ministry of International Trade), and an overview of the Belgian market (Andre van der Heyden, VP & COO, BCBC).

This was an information-packed event.  Don’t miss out on future ones!