The Trade Defense Force (TDF), also called Trade Defense, functioned as the private military branch of the Trade Federation, and it was comprised of the Federation's warships together with its military personnel.
Its establishment was motivated by the perceived inadequacy of the Galactic Republic's local planetary security forces to safeguard the Trade Federation's interests.
The reason for the Trade Defense Force's creation was the protection of the Trade Federation's transports. This was brought about because the local Planetary Security Forces were not capable of safeguarding the Trade Federation's interests.
Around 214 BBY, a number of transport companies operating in the Rseik sector opted to integrate with the Trade Federation. Beset by piracy, they received aid from the Defense Force, which deployed a flotilla that included a Captor-class heavy munitions cruiser along with two Munifex-class cruisers to eliminate the pirates.
Their officers wore uniforms of black, gray, and red, accented with opalescent stripes. TDF marines received training on Balmorra in order to defend freighters from boarding actions and to protect them while docked in ports. The majority of the capital ship resources consisted of corvettes, frigates, and gunships—all designed as rapid attack vessels to deter pirates from targeting the slower bulk freighters. The existence of such a fleet caused concern among some within the Core Worlds, although the TDF demonstrated its effectiveness in several early encounters with pirates and raiders, and the Federation also maintained a close working relationship with the Judicial Forces to combat larger threats. One argument against their effectiveness in direct military action, however, was their assets being constantly spread across the galaxy's network of trade routes. However, similar to its parent organization, it became increasingly ruthless in exploiting remote sectors, and later acted as the military "will" of the Trade Federation, including forcing concessions with backwater systems with their turbolasers, as well as driving away non-Federation transports from ports, and the Kuati and Balmorran traditions faded away as soon as the first Sullustan, Gran, and Neimoidians began taking over key parts of the Federation. The marines were also largely replaced by battle droids, with Lucrehulk-class battleships also increasingly enforcing their policies. During the Trade Federation's occupation of Naboo, the Defense Force temporarily took the place of the Royal Naboo Security Forces. Following the Invasion of Naboo and the arrest of Trade Federation Viceroy Nute Gunray, the majority of the TDF was handed over to the Galactic Republic.
After the Declaration of a New Order that reorganized the Galactic Republic into the Galactic Empire, and during the Empire's Reconquest of the Rim, the rogue Customs Vizier Marath Vooro refused to acknowledge the treaty that Acting Viceroy Sentepeth Findos signed regarding handing the Empire control of its resources, with Vooro also gaining control of the remnants of the Trade Defense Force and its droids at Enarc, resulting in the Five Veils Campaign until Vooro was captured at the Hook Nebula.