Export fearlessly: Seven strategies to manage risk in 2025

How to get the most out of this guide

Today’s global economy is a mix of challenges and opportunities for Canadian exporters. Staying adaptable and informed about economic trends and policy changes is critical for your success. Follow these seven strategies to manage risk and help your business to thrive, throughout the uncertainty and beyond. Each section includes why you need to manage the risk, followed practical ways to do so. And any time you have questions or want to learn more, reach out to us and ask! 

“The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” 

The quote that American former president Franklin D. Roosevelt made during his March 4, 1933 inaugural address was on point during a time of crisis. It’s always better to find solutions to manage risks than allow fear to hold you back.

Global uncertainty isn’t going away anytime soon. While the U.S. economy has proven to be resilient, many other markets, such as China and the European Union (EU), are struggling with challenging economic conditions. With the turbulent global market expected to continue in 2025, Canadian business leaders are facing new potential risks, including:

• Sluggish economic growth, coupled with a cooling labour market, is leading to lower business and consumer confidence.
• A volatile Canadian dollar is making it harder to set consistent prices and stay competitive in global markets.
• Financial partners are becoming more risk averse.
• With recent changes in the U.S. administration, the focus is on its trade priorities. One possibility is an early initiation of the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) review process. There’s no indication of what the U.S. might propose or how it could influence trilateral trade and the broader framework of CUSMA. This uncertainty underscores the importance for businesses to stay informed and agile in their strategies.

With the seven risk strategies below, you can start to build the resilience your company needs to survive and thrive in challenging conditions.

1. Don’t wait for a crisis to build business resilience

It just makes good business sense for your company to be informed and prepared, whether the global export market is calm or turbulent.

Getting prepared now means you’ll be ready, armed with a plan and proactive measures, for any external crisis or internal challenge that comes your way—be it another pandemic, global downturn, political upheaval, or even an innovation that changes ways of doing business or offers opportunities for new product lines.

Export Development Canada (EDC)

What you get:

EDC provides expert economic insight on leading trade topics such as markets, risks and opportunities, trends, and solutions to common trade challenges.

Where to find it:

Informative articles, webinars, flagship reports, guides, and weekly economic insights and updates are available at edc.ca. You can also sign up for a MyEDC account to get free access.  

Trade Commissioner Service (TCS)

What you get:

In addition to funding and support, trade missions and events, the TCS offers expert guides on a range of export topics, including cybersecurity, responsible business conduct abroad, and compliance to the rules of origin.

Where to find it:

Go to the TCS website and click on Export guides and statistics.

Global Affairs Canada (GAC)

What you get:

The GAC website is a rich resource for trade and investment agreements, funding and support programs, Canadian funding options for your international projects, and more.

Where to find it:

Visit the GAC home page and scroll down for links to a variety of topics.

Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC)

What you get:

Dubbed “The Bank for Entrepreneurs,” BDC offers guides, publications and webinars on a range of trade topics, as well as business assessments, financial tools and downloadable templates. A webinar of note: Top 5 ways to boost business in a slower economy.

Where to find it:

Go to bdc.ca and click on articles and tools in the top navigation bar.
 

2. Diversify to manage economic ups and downs

While there are no signs a full-blown global recession will emerge, many countries face ongoing challenges linked to weak domestic conditions. But you don’t need to precisely predict how bad (or not so bad) things will get. Like building proactive resilience, economic highs and lows always come around eventually, so get ready in advance.

At EDC, we also have a cross-Canada and global network, on-the-ground contacts and offices in other countries that can help you explore which markets are a good prospect for you.

EDC’s Global Financial Markets report will give you the latest financial and macroeconomic information for both developed and emerging markets.

You can also check out To market, to market: How to find new markets with Google Market Finder, which lists a range of different market-finding resources. To go directly to Google Market Finder, click here.

Doing business in new markets, or with new customers always comes with the fear of the unknown. One way to try out a new market without the risk of non-payment is to use EDC Credit Insurance. In particular, EDC Select Credit Insurance is ideal when you want fast, simple coverage of up to $500,000 for just a few new customers. If your customer doesn’t pay you, EDC will, for up to 90% of your insured losses.  

Conduct your due diligence. Find out everything you can about your new customer. EDC’s due diligence tool, EDC Company InSight, can help. It offers great tips and a database of more than 100,000 international businesses to help you assess potential risks before entering a professional relationship.

3. Take away the risks of non-payment

EDC research shows that one-in-five Canadian exporters is worried about not getting paid by their international customers—and even long-term, trusted customers can suddenly default due to circumstances beyond their control.

4. Stabilize your cash flow—and grow

Customers usually want to pay for their order only after they receive it. Tight on cash flow themselves, some customers also demand longer terms now, stretching the once-standard 30 days to 90 days or longer. Exporting companies are used to having to pay upfront for supplies, labour, and other expenses to make and ship products, sometimes managing this inconsistent cash flow by working with financial institutions (FIs) to get access to working capital.

But, in today’s riskier environment, FIs are becoming more cautious about extending financing and credit. That could leave you strapped with insufficient capital to fulfill orders—or having to turn down contracts altogether due to lack of funds. With cash flow restricted, your ability to fund expansion and growth can be limited.

5. Hedge your foreign exchange risk

When markets—and the Canadian dollar—are more volatile, foreign exchange fluctuations can lead to a roller-coaster ride for your company, especially with the inability to accurately forecast your costs and income. Ironically, this is one of the biggest risk Canadian companies face when selling internationally, but it’s one they often ignore. They believe that with currency fluctuations, sometimes you win, sometimes you lose, and it probably all evens out in the end. 

The hidden risk to this thinking is that currency rates are influenced— sometimes drastically—by things you have no control over, especially prevalent in today’s volatile environment. These include inflation, interest rates, changing economies, balances of trade between countries and political instability.

Never knowing what loss or gain your company will take from fluctuating exchange rates means you’re never sure what your profit will be from a transaction or how much cash flow you’ll have to fulfill the next contract. That’ll make you less competitive, with an unpredictable cash flow to fulfill contracts and pursue new opportunities.

6. Get past protectionism

Global elections held in 2024 will continue to reshape international trade in 2025. For example, the new U.S. administration has suggested a shift toward introducing broader tariffs, potentially affecting key partners such as Mexico and Canada. Given the United States is our largest trading partner, many Canadian exporters are proactively exploring ways to prepare for potential tariff changes. Staying ahead of these developments will be key to maintaining competitiveness as trade policies evolve.

And the U.S. isn’t alone. China, India, Brazil, South Africa, and Argentina are just a handful of markets known for their strong protectionist policies.

7. Make sure you’re in compliance

Protecting the environment, battling forced and child labour, halting money laundering and acting on human rights and social issues are key concerns for a wide and growing number of countries today. Governments worldwide have enacted or are developing regulations to deal with these situations, and the penalties can be stiff.    

Businesses can play a key role in preventing and remediating these social ills, from ensuring no slavery is involved in making their products to rejecting bribes, reducing their impact on the environment and protecting local populations. But a company may find itself embroiled in a situation, even unwittingly.

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