Learn about barriers to market entry and local requirements, i.e., things to be aware of when entering the market for this country.
Last Published: 6/4/2019

Due to the country's small size, if a company is considering doing business only in Latvia, one potential limiting factor is local labeling requirements, which could prove costly relative to the possible customer base.  Many companies focus on Latvia as part of the broader Baltic region or EU market.  Other challenges that businesses face in Latvia are the potential for market saturation and the difficulty of protecting business secrets due to the small market size.

American products in Latvia face strong competition from EU countries, Russia, and the formerly Soviet-occupied states.  Due to historical trade relations, companies from Scandinavian countries and Germany typically approach the Latvian market with greater confidence. Entrenched government bureaucracy, relatively higher levels of corruption (see Chapter 6), and challenges in maintaining correspondent banking relationships in U.S. dollars are potential impediments to the growth of U.S. trade and investment in Latvia.  
 

Prepared by our U.S. Embassies abroad. With its network of 108 offices across the United States and in more than 75 countries, the U.S. Commercial Service of the U.S. Department of Commerce utilizes its global presence and international marketing expertise to help U.S. companies sell their products and services worldwide. Locate the U.S. Commercial Service trade specialist in the U.S. nearest you by visiting http://export.gov/usoffices.