Adam Smith said - each nation should specialize in producing things it has an "absolute advantage" . The theory of "Absolute Advantage" seems to make sense in situations where the circumstances of the geographic and economic environment are relatively simple and straight forward. Because of the gift of our natural resources, Canadians are definitely better at producing wood products than the Japanese, and Japan's industrial magnificence is better at producing electronic consumer products than Canada, so we should trade - but does this mean Japan should import 100% of its wood products and we should import 100% of our consumer and industrial electronics?

Comparative Advantage: In most cases, a straight-forward Absolute Advantage does not exist in the real world. Some countries may have an advantage in one commodity, and also a slight advantage in another commodity - however there is still an opportunity for them to trade. 

Although Canada has companies like R.I.M., which make the BlackBerry, and Nortel, which makes telecomm devices and equipment, it makes sense to import a lot of consumer and industrial products and services from Asia, Latin America and Europe.

• sell more product - to acquire more product to satisfy customers, if there is a problem getting enough quantity from the local produced manufacturers
• make more profits (understand profit is slightly different than sales) by buying something cheaper than what it may cost to produce/acquire locally
• test market
• protect domestic market - if your customers are interested in a product you do not produce, you may lose those customers to suppliers that bring in new products from other sources - unless you also access new sources
• guarantee supply of materials - sometimes local producers of a product are effected by climate or weather conditions that negatively effect their ability to supply 12 months of the year 
• think about fruits and vegetables sold in the grocery stores - part of the year the store buys from Canadian farms, part of the year they buy from farm organizations in the southern U.S., and part of the year they buy from agricultural brokers in Mexico and further south in Latin American
• acquire technology - in order to obtain a production or manufacturing advantage over local competitors, some companies import advanced technology to help them produce products that cost less, or have additional features, textures, colours not available with the local product methods
• examples can be found in many areas of business such as auto parts, communications technology, resource processing, etc.
• diversify to reduce vulnerability
• management ego for expansion - reputation for having overseas offices

If a company is involved in exporting for the purposes of being more competitive, chance are it is also involved in importing to secure cost reduction and have access to important production assets.

RBC explains
 
"Commercial practices and financial systems differ widely between countries and, overall, the risk issues associated with overseas trading are wider in scope than in domestic commerce. Discussion of risk tends to focus on the exporter's position - that is, on the buyer's creditworthiness and ability to pay for the goods once shipped. But what about risks to an importer? When you purchase goods from a foreign supplier, you will need to consider the impact of foreign currency exchange, transport, insurance, and customs duties on your profit margin. The list below summarizes some of the risks that you might encounter."
 

• "Risks In Transit - Will the shipment arrive undamaged and in good order?
• Currency Risk - Can fluctuations in exchange rates be accounted for? Will the terms that you have negotiated put you at risk of currency fluctuations?
• Interest Rate Risk - If the terms of payment are fixed, will a change in interest rates affect your ability to pay?
• Documentary Risk - Will your shipment be subject to delays at customs if your supplier fails to prepare required documentation? Are the goods perishable?"

Vincent Barboza, Regional  Manager, Trade Finance, International Trade Centre, of the Royal Bank, aside from having the longest title, is also a nice and helpful person who (July 8th, 2005) provided the link to the RBC site noted above. Copies of emails are kept in the permissions binder.
www.rbcglobalservices.com/business/itrade/res_im_contract.html#risk

Meaning the competition among retailers, for lower prices, pushes the manufacturer (and importer of component parts) to seek the lowest price, regardless of safety considerations.

In 2007, several stories were covered in the media about the safety of consumer products and food imported from China

W5 - the "60 minutes" of Canada, dealt with one aspect of this story in an October 2007 segement "Safe to eat?"

see segment by Patt-Ann Finlay, hosted by Alan Fryer here
 http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20071025/WFIVE_chinafood_071027/20071027?hub=WFive

Finlay reports
"China is now Canada's second source of food imports -- after the U.S. That has some consumers concerned -- especially in light of safety scares about products from China."

The consequence of stories like this effects Canadian companies that retail food and food ingredients that come from China.

Canadian Importers Association now known as the  Canadian Association of Importers and Exporters Inc.  iecanada.com

Like many trade associations, the Importers offers a lot of services to members. This particular association was originally formed to help Canadian companies with problems and challenges importing products in to Canada. The association lobbied the government for changes to restrictive import regulations and provided education and public relations functions for the member companies.

"The Association provides Canadian importers with information on trade policy and opportunities, regulations and tariffs, trade missions and exhibitions, analyses of worldwide trade issues, effective representation to government and timely advice designed to keep importers competitive and profitable."
fromhttp://corporate.bmo.com/tradefinance/import/links/default.asp

One of the consequences of outgoing export oriented trade missions is that Canada is usually then obliged to host an incoming mission to give the companies of the other country a chance to sell their goods in Canada. In a situation like this, the Canadian Importers Assoc. is sometimes involved in hosting a reception, or planning some event so that people can meet and exchange ideas and information for trade opportunities.

so if you are interested in working in interational business in Latin America, the importers assoc. might be a helpful resource

Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters (www.cme-mec.ca) is an amalgamation of the old 
CEA - Canadian Exporters Association and the 
CMA - Canadian Manufacturers Association

Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters is considered to be a large association and well known among senior government staff at the federal and provincial level from "way back in the days" when it was just the CEA.

Because of the government's emphasis on exporting vs. importing, the Canadian Importers Association always struggled to achieve the same prominence as the CEA.

Canadian International Freight Forwarders Association   www.ciffa.com

In their own words, from the CIFFA website
 www.ciffa.com/aboutciffa_whatisciffa.html
"Whether shipper, importer or freight forwarder, the Canadian International Freight Forwarders Association is important to you....  As a shipper or importer, it provides a source of professional level transportation services and a facility through which grievances can be aired, that being the Ethics and Standards  Committee."

Whereas SHIPPING comes under the category of PLACE in the 4P's of Marketing; shipping is critical to the success of any international marketing situation.

Most industry associations have newsletters for the purpose of informing their members about the activities of the association, as well as the activities of other members, and also for the purpose of Public Relations with potential customers and other interested parties.
CIFFA's list of present and past newsletter material is at
 www.ciffa.com/newsletters/index.html

• Canadian Association of Logistics Management - www.calm.org 
• Canadian Industrial Transportation Association - www.cita-acti.ca 
• Canadian Industrial Transportation League - www.citl.ca 
• Canadian Institute of Traffic and Transportation - www.citt.ca
• Canadian Society of Customs Brokers - www.cscb.ca 
• Canadian Professional Logistics Institute - www.loginstitute.ca 
• Freight Carriers Association of Canada - www.fca-natc.org

Screen capture and link to the website of the CBSA Canada Border Services Agency  cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/import/menu-eng.html  A Canadian federal government agency dealing with import regulations and border access

CBSA provides information on Importing Goods into Canada
 

• "Accounting for your shipment
• Invoices, import permits, Certificate of Origin, Duty Deferral Program, international trade agreements

 
• Examining your shipment
• Why goods are examined

 
• Registering your business
• Business number, import/export account

 
• Release of your shipment
• Release programs, posting security, transaction number

 
• Reporting your shipment
• Required documents

 
• Storing your shipment
• Sufferance and bonded warehouses

 
• Importing by Mail
• How the process works"