Economic Section of the French Embassy [ fr ]

Within the French Embassies, the Trade Commission in each foreign country are the services abroad of the Department of Treasury and Economic Policy. The Trade Commissions are the international components of a unified network for the Ministry of Economy, Finance and Employment. This network includes the International Business Departments of each French region and Ubifrance (the French agency for international company development). Ubifrance manages the commercial service activities of the Trade Commissions.

The Trade Commissions work abroad in close liaison with Coface, the French Foreign Trade Advisors (CCE), the French Chambers of Commerce and Industry Abroad, the equivalent of the Business Council of Australia, professional associations and the host country’s government departments. They are made up of bi-cultural personnel including French expatriates and local employees who are managed by a Trade Commissioner.

The 3 principle tasks of the Trade Commissions include:

Analysing the economic and financial situation and the market access conditions of the host country. Establishing and sustaining economic and financial cooperation between the host country and France.
Contributing to French and European Union proposals within multilateral organisations through collecting and analysing information. The Trade Commission is also in charge of making known the French position on financial and trade issues within a European, regional and international framework.
Supporting the trade efforts of French exporting companies (in partnership with Ubifrance), facilitating French investments in the foreign country and promoting France as a host country for foreign investors (in partnership with the Invest in France Agency).