Answer 15

FAQ's

15. Where can I find a list of foreign companies in a particular industry or sector?

The International Partner Search, a program offered by our office, is a customized search on behalf of U.S. companies seeking foreign representation. U.S. commercial officers abroad conduct the agent/distributor search based on requirements specified by the requesting firm. The search for agents and distributors takes 60 - 90 days and costs $600 per market. You can place your order for this service by calling us at (907) 271-6237 or email at: alaska.office.box@mail.doc.gov

Trade Offices and Embassies of foreign governments help their firms export to the United States, so you may want to contact the commercial officer or the trade attaché of the country from which you would like to purchase goods. A list of foreign emabassies or trade officers in the United States is available from the Trade Information Center's web site at: http://tradeinfo.doc.gov/ Follow the link for "Trade Offices Nationwide" and then the link to "Foreign Trade Offices".

Foreign Trade Associations can also provide valuable information on industries and companies within your country of interest. This information can be found in the Appendix of the Country Commercial Guides (CCG's). See question #4 for information on how to obtain a CCG.

Private corporatons which maintain information on overseas companies include:

The Directory of Major Companies, published by World Publications Service. It provides listings of the major companies around the world. They can be reached at (800) 507-4383.
Foreign Trade Register, published by Thomas Register. This provides listings of foreign manufacturers worldwide. They can be reached by phone at (800) 699-9822 or internet: http://www.thomasregister.com.
Kompass International Trade Directories provide references to a country's industry and contain product and service classifications. They provide directories for individual count5ries, product references and executives names in over 60 countries. They can be reached via internet at: http://www.kompass.com.