The market, obstacles in Canadian government contracts By Linda Keene When looking to expand or branch out, small U.S. firms might look north to Canada for government contracts in everything from paper clips to helicopters.
Procurements are open to American or any offshore company.
But, as with any international venture, there can be obstacles along the way. Some U.S. entrepreneurs say they have been frustrated by the Canadian government's apparent bias toward Canadian vendors, over U.S. competitors. And, there are fees and bonds required on many transactions. To streamline the process, government contracts are distributed on the Internet through an electronic tendering service called MERX , which posts more than 1,500 projects, and is updated daily with about 200 new entries. Trade agreements All contracts are subject to trade agreements, principally the North American Free Trade Agreement and World Trade Agreement and the U.S.-Canada Free Trade Agreement.