Commercial Diplomacy in Advanced Industrial States: Canada, the UK, and the US

Commercial diplomacy is an elusive concept that is often confused with economic diplomacy. The work done by the government to promote both exports and inward investment summarises what commercial diplomacy is all about.

Governments play a major role but they do not act alone and the private sector is intimately involved in commercial diplomatic activities. If both export promotion and inward investment promotion are individually well-documented, few attempts have been made to consider them together. In this era of globalisation, the two activities are becoming increasingly interlinked, and this underscores the relevance of this research. The practices and processes adopted by the USA, Canada and the UK to pursue commercial diplomacy ? be it the use of trade missions or trade fairs, the pricing of services, cross-fertilisation, or the use of information and telecommunication technologies ? are often similar. However, the structures and mandates adopted by their governments vary significantly. Through the three case studies, this research identifies the differences in structures, mandates, and practices, and it explores possible reasons that explain them.

About the author

Alexandre Mercier graduated in 2006 in International Studies (MA) at the Department of Political Science and International Studies, University of Birmingham, United Kingdom. He is currently pursuing an internship in the Summits of the Americas Secreteriat at the Organization of American States, Washington.

Email: [email protected]

More information

Information is available at the secretariat of the Clingendael Diplomatic Studies Programme of the Netherlands Institute of International Relations Clingendael, tel. (070) 3746605 or via email.