As cryptocurrencies gain traction toward mainstream adoption and acceptance, companies in the crypto ecosystem must balance an influx of revenue and fast growth with the challenges of building a financial infrastructure capable of supporting their changing needs. Whether they’re a cryptocurrency exchange, a company funded through an initial coin offering (ICO), a platform or technology provider―or any combination of those categories―firms need processes and tools to help them address technological, marketplace and regulatory uncertainty amid rapidly changing token and company valuations.  

While e-commerce in the U.S. reaches a stage of maturity and online sales stabilize, Canada is expected to see consistently higher e-commerce growth – especially this year and into 2019.1. Canadians shop more online, they increasingly turn to their neighbor to the south. Last year, 67 percent of our e-commerce shoppers bought from U.S. merchants. That’s 23 percent more than in 2016. How often do they shop? Six times each, on average. And, according to Canada Post’s 2018 Canadian Online Shopper Study, 65 percent of Canadian e-commerce shoppers are planning on buying just as much, if not more, in 2018.

Faster, more efficient service is a common goal of all businesses that ship to Canada, and this need for speed has been exacerbated in recent years, with the surge in e-commerce shipments heading to Canada.  Canadian customers share the same delivery expectations as their U.S. counterparts — shipments should arrive within 2-3 days, on-time, and at little or no cost to the customer. But with an international border to cross, longer distances to travel, and an unknown distribution network to conquer, how could this be done? In fact, tremendous advances have been madeincross border logistics such that U.S. businesses can now reach the Canadian market faster and with more flexibility than ever before.  Much of this innovation has been fueled by technology, and some, by looking at things in a new way.
 

 

Canadian companies that may have cast their dreams of California aside because the state is too far and too competitive ought to go try out—especially since it has recently become the world’s fifth largest economy and is brimming with opportunities. The state’s economy is so large that the Canadian Trade Commissioner Service (TCS) treats the northern part of the state and the southern part as two separate markets, explains Krista Eisan, a trade commissioner based in Los Angeles who covers the clean technologies sector. Southern California is well-known as the entertainment capital of the world with a multitude of roles for Canadians there and in related fields such as digital media. The region also boasts many robust industries, namely environmental technology, life sciences--including bio-technology and medical devices and research, manufacturing—particularly for apparel. For companies looking for an “agent”, the TCS is ready to help.
 

 

In a recent New York Times article, Long Beach Mayor Robert Garcia said of his City, “the downtown is being reborn and recreated.”  Indeed, Long Beach has undergone an impressive revitalization in recent years, transforming its historic downtown into a desirable urban environment on the water and building upon its rich tradition in aerospace, manufacturing, and shipping.  People often associate Long Beach with its Port, and for good reason – it is one of busiest in the United States moving more than $100 billion in goods in 2017 and creating 1 in 8 jobs in the City.  Yet, Long Beach’s strong Port is only part of what makes the City a great business destination. 
 

Next month marks 23 years that I have worked for a Canadian company. Next month also marks 23 years as an Air Canada employee and therefore, an Ambassador of our neighbors to The North.  But ties to Canada began, for me, long before I “flew the flag” for its country’s Flag Ship Carrier. It began in the 1940's.

We think of borders as being fixed by geography. Something that we can point to on a map. Something we experience when we cross it. Most Canadians live in proximity to the U.S. border and part of Canada’s identity is defined by this border. But for an expatriate living away from one’s home country, a border can be more elastic than fixed. Over time, the proximity to the border is measured less by physical distance and more by personal attention, relevance and interest. And so while a physical border in times of peace is rarely redrawn, for an expat, the border can actually stretch near and far over the years. For me, it has been in the shape of an arc – sometimes feeling very close and sometimes existing far away - regardless of the actual distance.
 

There is a large and dynamic Canadian market waiting for Southern California businesses to discover. Québec, a province of over 8 million people with an annual GDP of over $300 billion, may be better known among the Northeastern U.S. states it borders than here in Southern California. And for that reason, MAPLE Business Council has developed a turnkey three-day fact-finding mission to share some of Québec’s leading centers of excellence and innovation.  It will be a chance to explore new export, investment, and innovation collaboration opportunities.

While there has justifiably been a lot of focus on opportunities pertaining to emerging countries in Asia and Latin America, we can often forget about the significance of the trade relationship between Canada and the US, which is the second largest bilateral trade relationship in the world. The US is the largest economy in the world and its most populated state, is also home to the 6th largest economy of the world with an annual GDP exceeding $2.5 trillion.

Intellectual property rights in the United States – in the form of patents, copyrights, and trademarks - provide protection to a company when its technology is used by others without permission.   The most common way to enforce these rights is through a court action for infringement.  However, intellectual property owners should also be aware of an additional avenue in the United States that provides a powerful mechanism for enforcing their rights – the United States International Trade Commission.

A move across the Canada/US border can have significant financial implications.  Many executives and professionals who make this move receive tax and legal guidance but are often left to navigate investment and financial matters for themselves.  Below are some helpful tips and advice to make sure you are aware of some very important factors. 

The ongoing talks over NAFTA continue to be a fixture of political news. With the Trump administration determined to overhaul decades of US trade policy, political leaders and diplomats remain at odds over what a reformed NAFTA deal should look like – or whether the agreement will even persist at all. With the trade pact potentially under threat, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has even embarked on a US speaking tour aimed at making the case for why NAFTA can benefit both Canada and the US. 

Executives of organizations at all levels should be focusing on and implementing effective CYBERSECURITY changes. One key concept executives could focus on related to their cybersecurity resolution should be related to Business Email Compromise (BEC). BEC is a form of phishing attack where a cyber-criminal impersonates an executive, and attempts to get an employee, customer, or vendor to transfer funds or sensitive information to the phisher (Wennington, 2016). With global losses from BEC scams set to exceed US $9 BILLION in 2018, it is time to take action and make these changes. (Micro, Trend, 2017).

It’s the middle of winter—a time when temperatures drop and many Canadians look toward Los Angeles, planning winter getaways that break up the long cold winter. But while Canadian vacationers come to L.A. seeking sunshine, beaches, and attractions like Disneyland and Universal Studios, a growing number of Canadian businesses head to the Southland because they see the wealth of investment, talent, and market opportunities available in the region.

Business resilience (sometimes also referred to as corporate resilience) is the ability of a business organization to quickly adapt to significant disruptions or other material adverse events while maintaining continuous business operations and safeguarding people, assets and overall brand value.  Resilient organizations do more than just survive disruptive events; they thrive in them, leveraging the challenges that arise in such events to demonstrate responsiveness, flexibility, and adaptability and to come out as stronger, more competitive performers.

Many of the world's most successful companies are taking advantage of the Canadian province of New Brunswick's nearshore value proposition. The provincial government has placed a strong focus on further developing its strengths in sectors like information technology, finance, cannabis, advanced manufacturing, contact centers, and shared services. New Brunswick’s location is naturally strategic, enabling companies to work with all of North America and Europe in the same business day. Combine that advantage with its low cost of doing business and everything is in place to make an expansion both easy and profitable.

After four rounds of negotiations, important progress has been made in some areas, but there is now a lot of speculation about what might happen next.  As we head into the fifth round of negotiations this week, here’s what you need to know: NAFTA is a success story. For starters, let’s understand that NAFTA has been an engine of middle class job creation.  Close to 14 million jobs in the U.S. alone depend on NAFTA – 9 million are supported by trade and investment with Canada and another 5 million by trade and investment with Mexico.
 

 

As of June 30, 2017, there were 201,398 Canadians registered to purchase cannabis from licensed producers and 6,880 registered to grow for personal use in the federal regulations that support the Canadian medical cannabis market.1 Canadian licensed producers are large-scale indoor or greenhouse grows, some with hundreds of thousands of square feet of canopy. At market close on November 14, 2017, two publicly-traded companies that own licensed producers as primary assets had market capitalization values exceeding two billion dollars (CAD), and another two are between one and two billion. Each was listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange, Canada’s senior stock exchange, each also holds international cannabis assets – chiefly in Germany and Australia. Cannabis is a big business in Canada and Canadian expertise is gaining global traction.

The World Trade Center Los Angeles is dedicated to attracting foreign direct investment to the Los Angeles region and facilitating opportunities between Los Angeles and international companies. The WTCLA provides two major types of business assistance services:

• Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) Attraction Services - Assist international companies seeking to locate or expand their business operations in the Los Angeles region.

• Export Facilitation Services - Assist local companies seeking to export products or services to international markets.
  

Westmark Tax is a tax firm focused on providing consulting and compliance services to individuals and companies that have cross-border tax needs.  In the complex world of international tax, the team at Westmark tax is able to simplify concepts for clients to provide practical solutions and guidance. 

The primary focus is to develop a tax strategy to optimize your global tax picture – ensuring that you are paying the least amount of tax globally and that all disclosure requirements are met.  The professional team at Westmark Tax has a real passion for cross-border tax issues with over 75 years of combined experience with offices located in the US and in Canada.