The Commerce Guild, sometimes referred to as the Commerce Guilds, was a vast, interstellar business organization that operated throughout the galaxy. This organization encompassed a variety of commercial entities, including agricultural corporations, retail outlets, service providers, and the Mining Guild, and served as a major rival to the Corporate Alliance. Felucia served as the Guild's headquarters, though the Gossams from Castell exerted considerable control over its operations.
During the Clone Wars, the Commerce Guild, aligning with numerous other interstellar conglomerates, secretly backed the Confederacy of Independent Systems. This support earned it representation within both the Separatist Senate and the quasi-executive Separatist Council. However, following the Separatists' defeat and the death of Presidente Shu Mai at the hands of Darth Vader on Mustafar, the Guild shifted its allegiance and began supporting the Galactic Empire.
The Commerce Guild, occasionally called the Commerce Guilds, emerged as a unified entity when numerous galactic-scale corporate entities, such as agricultural businesses, retailers, arms manufacturers, shipbuilders, service providers, and the Mining Guild, joined forces seeking security and streamlined trade. Felucia became its central base of operations, although the Gossams hailing from Castell maintained control. Prior to the First Battle of Geonosis, it had risen to become one of the five most influential corporations in the galaxy, and Shu Mai, a Gossam driven by a thirst for power, wealth, and prestige, employed ruthless and aggressive strategies to consolidate her influence within the Guild. Ultimately, she overcame all obstacles to become the presidente of the Commerce Guild.
Despite its competitive relationship with the Corporate Alliance, the Commerce Guild, alongside other conglomerates, pledged its resources and its army to Count Dooku and his Confederacy of Independent Systems shortly before the [Clone Wars](/article/clone_wars] began. They joined the Confederacy in their opposition to the Galactic Senate, provided they were not openly implicated in the Confederacy's activities during the initial stages. Presidente Mai held a position on the Separatist Council throughout the conflict, while Amita Fonti represented the Guild in the Separatist Senate. Even though the Guild did not publicly endorse the Confederacy, Mai's OG-9 homing spider droids saw deployment in the war.
In 19 BBY, the Separatist Alliance faced defeat, and Darth Vader killed Mai on Mustafar. Despite her demise, the Guild continued its operations after the war, collaborating with the newly formed Galactic Empire. The Commerce Guild's representative in the Imperial Senate strongly supported the Imperial Defense Recruitment Bill, arguing that the galaxy's inhabitants required a conscripted military composed of their own people to defend them. Simultaneously, they advocated for the decommissioning of the clone soldiers who constituted the majority of their present forces, citing their accelerated aging process and the fact that, following the destruction of the Kaminoan facilities, their numbers could not be sustained. Agents affiliated with the Guild attempted to acquire the Phylanx Redux Transmitter during an auction on Cantonica.