US foreign trade office
One of the best sources for finding a manufacturer in a particular country is the US foreign trade office or the commercial office of the country in question. For example, if you want to source computer hardware from Taiwan, you could contact the Taiwan Trade Center in Miami at 305.477.2238. If you wish to locate a source in Portugal, the phone for the Portuguese Trade Commission is 212.354.4610 in New York City or 202.331.8222 in Washington, DC. Trade offices will provide names of manufacturers or will furnish your name to manufacturers. One North Carolina company that called a foreign trade office in the US complained that this foreign office represented only its own "membership," so ask about the relationship. A commercial/trade office is not the embassy, which is located in Washington, DC. You should, however, be able to obtain the contact information for the commercial office nearest you through the embassy or on the Internet.
Internet
To find a foreign trade office in the US via the Internet, use a search engine like YAHOO! at www.yahoo.com or GOOGLE at www.google.com. Search by the NAME OF THE COUNTRY plus TRADE. Another Internet site for foreign trade office location in the US is http://www.ita.doc.gov/, then click on the TRADE tab, then INFORMATION CENTER, then TRADE OFFICES NATIONWIDE, then FOREIGN TRADE OFFICES.
Exporters' Encyclopedia
Another excellent source for trade or commercial office contacts in the US is the Exporters' Encyclopedia, published by Dun and Bradstreet. It is an expensive reference book and can be found in some libraries. Each country has a chapter in this publication. Look under "Key Contacts in the US" for information.
Trade associations
You may use the Internet to source products or manufacturers overseas using the same process as finding foreign trade offices in the US. Some overseas manufacturers may belong to trade associations that provide member names. For example, we entered a www.google.com search using TAIWAN, MANUFACTURERS, TOYS. With the results of that search, we were able to access TAIWAN PRODUCTS ONLINE at http://manufacture.com.tw/ that lists a Taiwan Trade Manufacturers Directory and the IMPORTERS AND EXPORTERS SEARCH ENGINE at www.taiwantrade.com where manufacturer information is sorted by product categories. In addition, there were several online search companies listed such as Alibaba.com.
Phone books
The country's phone bookis another source. The International White and Yellow Pages can be found at some libraries or online at www.wayp.com or www.infobel.com. Use the Yellow Pages as you would in the US.
Domestic and international trade shows
Domestic and international trade shows are another source for locating overseas products and/or manufacturers. One web site listing major domestic trade shows is www.tsnn.com. You must log in or register to use the site, but it is free of charge. Another site for domestic and international shows is www.export.gov/Tradeevents.html.
Locating the country of export
If you do not know what country makes this product, check for the countries with the largest exports of the product to the US by looking at statistics for imports into the US. Look up import statistics at the United States International Trade Commission's web site at http://dataweb.usitc.gov/. You must register to use this site but there is no charge. You will need the product's commodity classification number to do your search. Directions on how to find this number via a key word search are given on the ITC site.
Using these sources can be very productive. Some time ago, an SBTDC client contacted the Portuguese Trade Commission regarding manufacturers of housewares and received almost 200 letters from Portuguese suppliers. The commission also sent a notice about a Portuguese pavilion at an International Housewares Show in Chicago.