There is a golden rule in foreign trade which any company committed to development and expansion should never ignore: you have to go wherever the market is. There is no universal formula which will work for every company, since every place and every business sector has its own peculiarities, though all the companies who have tried their luck abroad are happy to recommend the experience.

Nowadays to be a Small or Medium Sized Enterprise (SME) is no obstacle to operating overseas. Quite the contrary, since 99.8% of Europe�s corporate fabric is made up of small and medium companies, more than 19 million companies to be precise. In other words, there�s a good chance of striking up a business relationship with foreign companies of the same size, although that requires more conservative managers to make an adjustment to their mindset.

The physical circulation of the euro provides a relief for many companies who up until now have been lazy with regard to offering their products and services outside their home market. In spite of the progress made in recent years, export is still the unresolved issue of the world of Spanish business. The figures are less than encouraging: according to a recent study by the Savings Banks Foundation (FUNCAS), a mere 9% of Spanish SMEs are bold enough merit the epithet internationalise. The same report puts Spain at the tail of Europe in terms of the proportion of exporting companies, with less than 41% selling abroad.

The markets of choice for Spanish companies tend to depend on two criteria: proximity and language. This means that the European Union, the north of Africa and Latin America are the regions which receive the largest proportion of products and services made in Spain.

Among the most successful initiatives to promote foreign trade among Spanish companies is the Plan for the Initiation of Foreign Promotion, known as PIPE 2000 (PIPE being the Spanish acronym for the plan), instigated by the Superior Council of Chambers of Commerce, the Spanish Institute of Foreign Trade (ICEX) and the Autonomous Communities. The aim of this public initiative is to turn SMEs into the country's new exporters in a permanent and sustainable way.

The Chambers of Commerce offer services specialised in foreign trade to handle the certificates of origin and all kinds of legislation, such as commercial invoices, certificates of shipping company certificates and air waybills, insurance and health certificates, contracts, signature recognition and other small items of paperwork which can be a nightmare for the exporter. There are also licences which can oil the wheels of bureaucracy to allow goods to cross all sorts of borders to go to shows, trade fairs, and exhibitions.

The Chambers of Commerce also give information about the documents which require sworn translations, signature recognition by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and visas issued by foreign consulates.