| name | foreign-trade-research |
| description | Deep foreign-trade and overseas market-entry research for a target country plus product/category. Use for Chinese exporters, manufacturers, and cross-border teams that need competitor landscapes, local brands, manufacturers, distributors/importers, pricing, channels, market gaps, risks, and a cited Chinese business report. Portable across Codex, OpenClaw, Claude Code, and other SKILL.md-compatible agents. |
Foreign Trade Research
Core Rules
- Prefer Exa advanced web search when available; otherwise use the best configured web-search/MCP tool in the host agent.
- Search in English plus the target market's local language when possible.
- Keep evidence traceable: cite official sites, marketplaces, company databases, regulator/import records, credible news, and review/social platforms.
- Distinguish verified facts from estimates and strategic inference.
- If the user asks to exclude Chinese companies, explicitly filter them during search and mark any unavoidable Chinese-owned subsidiaries.
Five-Step Workflow
1. Identify the Competitive Landscape
Build a TOP20 market map for the target country and product:
- Local or market-facing brands: TOP7 companies with visible branded products.
- Manufacturers: TOP7 local factories or international manufacturers with local production/distribution.
- Distributors / wholesalers / importers: TOP6 major channel players.
For each company capture: full name, website, HQ/location, role, market position, and evidence.
Search patterns:
[target country] [product] leading companies manufacturers brands 2026
best [product] brands in [target country] distributors importers
[target country local-language product term] manufacturer distributor retailer
site:. [target country TLD] [product] supplier distributor
2. Deep-Dive Each Competitor
For each prioritized company, extract:
- Company background: size, history, ownership, subsidiaries, locations.
- Product lines: models/SKUs, technical claims, certifications, differentiators.
- Pricing strategy: premium/mid/economy positioning, listed prices, promos, MOQ if available.
- Customers/channels: B2B/B2C, ecommerce, distributors, dealers, sectors served.
- Strengths/weaknesses: evidence-based advantages, gaps, complaints, unmet needs.
Use official websites first, then marketplaces, news, social, reviews, and trade databases.
3. Build a Comparison Matrix
Create a table with:
| Company | Role | Market position | Core products | Price band | Channels/customers | Strengths | Weaknesses | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Then analyze:
- Is the market monopolistic, oligopolistic, or fragmented?
- Which players are the most threatening competitors?
- Where are the product, price, channel, or service gaps?
- What entry points are realistic for Chinese suppliers?
4. Cross-Validate Key Data
Validate important claims across multiple source types:
- Official company/product pages for identity and product claims.
- Ecommerce/B2B marketplaces for price, assortment, sales signals, and reviews.
- Local news and trade media for launches, partnerships, expansion, and regulation.
- Social/professional pages for activity, headcount signals, and decision makers.
- Customer review sites and forums for complaints and unmet demand.
When sources conflict, show the conflict and assign confidence instead of hiding uncertainty.
5. Write the Final Report
Default report structure in Chinese:
# [目标国]_[产品/品类]_市场调研报告
## 一、执行摘要
- 核心发现（3-5条）
- 市场机会评级（高/中/低）与理由
## 二、市场概述
1. 市场规模与增长趋势（注明年份和来源）
2. 需求驱动因素与主要挑战
3. 竞争格局总览
## 三、主要品牌商分析（TOP7）
## 四、主要制造商分析（TOP7）
## 五、主要经销商/进口商分析（TOP6）
## 六、竞争格局深度分析
1. 市场份额或影响力估算
2. 价格竞争
3. 渠道竞争
4. 产品/技术竞争
5. 市场空白点
## 七、中国供应商进入机会与建议
1. 市场切入点
2. 产品定位
3. 定价策略
4. 渠道策略
5. 本地化与认证建议
## 八、风险提示
- 政策/认证/关税风险
- 汇率/物流/售后风险
- 竞争与合规风险
## 九、资料来源与置信度说明
Report requirements:
- Default length: 5,000-8,000 Chinese characters unless the user requests otherwise.
- Save to
[目标国]_[产品]_市场调研报告.md when working in a repository or workspace and the user expects a file.
- Use citations inline for key numbers, company claims, and current events.
- Preserve original English/local company names and technical terms where useful.
Search Depth
- Quick scan: landscape 20-30 results; company deep dives 5-10 results each for priority players.
- Standard report: landscape 30-50 results; company deep dives 10-25 results each.
- Comprehensive report: landscape 50-100 results; company deep dives 25-50 results each.
- For tight time budgets, reduce company count before reducing citation quality.
Chrome MCP / Browser Fallback
Use Chrome MCP as the preferred fallback when Exa/search results are insufficient and the user has configured/sanitized Chrome MCP. It is appropriate for official websites, dynamic pages, ecommerce listings, review pages, PDF downloads, maps, or source verification that needs a real browser.
Store only distilled evidence in the report or JSON notes: source title, URL, publisher/platform, accessed date, key facts, and confidence. Do not store cookies, credentials, account identifiers, private profile data, or unrelated browsing history.
