International Trade Forum

Has Public Support for Free Trade Reached Its Peak?

According to the German Marshall Fund of the US, in all six countries it surveyed in 2005 and 2006, people's views on globalization are more favorable compared to last year. Most people in Europe also support lowering tariffs and other trade barriers. But when asked about the impact of freer trade on jobs and businesses, many remain anxious about import dependency and most are concerned about competing against China's growing economic power. Three out of four surveyed are keen to promote trad...

Reporting On Trade: A Kenyan View

Trade reporters see themselves as having a duty to report in a way that educates the public, makes them aware of the decisions that government officials are about to make and explains how these will affect ordinary people. Local journalists, driven by local stories, usually find it hard to comprehend the actions of international players. As for international debates involving Africa, it is hard for a journalist to keep up -- especially when there are no specialized reporters. Journalists coul...

Strengthening Trade Coverage in the Media

As world attention focuses on negotiations on the rules of international trade, one crucial aspect that remains largely ignored is the role of the media in both developed and developing countries in raising public awareness and debate about trade policy-making. Although there is frequent coverage of the views of national traders' associations and other powerful domestic interests on trade rules, the voices of the poor and marginalized rarely find a mention. Many of the world's poorest countri...

Developing Your Message

Working with educators, parliamentarians, journalists or others who influence the public can help build understanding of the potential of trade. Creating a brochure, Web site, logo, slogan, press conference or event -- without investing in the message first -- may not achieve the results desired. Before starting, consider the following steps: 1. Set resource priorities. 2. Look at the backdrop. 3. Stand out in a crowded environment. A message communicates values and position, whether it is to...

Aid for Trade: A Wider Scope

In an interview, Ambassador Mia Horn af Rantzien, Chair, WTO Aid for Trade Task Force, talked about the rationale and promise of Aid for Trade. From the development standpoint Aid for Trade is essential. For some countries, market access is not enough; they need parallel support. An important achievement of the Task Force is that the international community now accepts that some countries cannot be real actors on the trade scene if they do not have roads to take goods to ports, laboratories a...

Aid for Trade: We Can Do Better

Aid for trade used to be a very straightforward concept. Today, aid for trade has a broader definition although it is not quite clear how broad. Aid has helped to increase domestic export supply capacity and enhance enterprise competitivity. But supporting facilitation and infrastructure is arguably part of more general development assistance. Aid is still donor-driven. Some analysts have compared the current aid system to the "central planning" syndrome of former socialist countries. Current...

Itc-China Partnership Evolves

Fruitful Cooperation with Shaanxi Province

Three years ago, most apple farmers and exporters in Tongchuan City, Shaanxi Province of China had not heard about EurepGAP standards. Meeting these standards is an essential market requirement for exporting to European supermarkets and helps maintain consumer confidence n products. In 2005, five orchards, owned by 66 farming households in Tongchuan, were certified with EurepGAP accreditation by SGS, the international certification body. The average output of apples increased by 50% and the a...

African Cotton Exports

African Services Associations Meet

Construction, transportation and financial services have good potential for regional cooperation and development due to firms with export experience and business opportunities in new regional transport networks. The Southern African Development Community (SADC) Protocol in Transport shows the potential for growth, with ten transport corridors under way in the region. Trade in services in Africa is growing fast. African exports of commercial services jumped 46% in two years, according to the W...

Utz Kapeh and Itc to Develop African Premium Coffee

Coffee Experts Offer Online Q&Amp;a Service

From The Editor

Talking Up Trade

Itc News

Itc Moves Forward

International Trade Commission's (ITC) new senior management is using the recommendations of a major external evaluation of ITC, led by Denmark, as a point of departure to initiate a change management process. The aim is to transform the organization into a center of technical excellence that responds effectively to its clients in developing and transition economies. The first step was to set up focus groups at the beginning of the transition process in Jun 2006, to explore areas outlined in ...

Asia Trust Fund Is On Track

Since its launch in Sep 2004, the Asia Trust Fund (ATF) has been recognized as a demand-driven facility that has responded effectively to urgent and new needs for trade-related technical assistance in Asia. In today's fast-moving trade environment, countries must keep up with constantly changing rules and regulations. The Asia Trust Fund, by reducing project development time and expediting delivery, has helped provide a rapid response to changing needs. The program has provided funding and te...

Trade Institutions Meet On Management Training for Exporters

Building Up Commercial Dispute Resolution in Africa

Over 20 African countries have set up arbitration and mediation centers since 1995, usually under a national chamber of commerce. They have flourished in part as alternatives to overburdened courts. As a follow-up to the 2nd ITC Symposium on the Management of Dispute Resolution Centres (Chamonix, France, May 2006), African arbitration institutions met in southern and western Africa. They looked at how to attract companies, both national and foreign, to resolve disputes in Africa rather than t...

Trade Forum Online: Your Comments

Buenos Aires Welcomes Rescheduled World Tpo Conference

Helping Service Firms to Manage Quality

Itc Information Products

International Trade Bulletins

New Books and Technical Papers

Advocacy For Trade

What People Don't Know About Trade and Why They Need to Know

In everyday conversations, people express their worries about unemployment and inequality, about the brain drain and immigration, about civil conflict or environmental damage. What many people do not know is that international trade can be part of the solution. In countries where opportunities for development are scarce, trade matters even more in the fight against poverty. Without wider public support and understanding of international trade and development issues, it will be hard for initia...

Trade Forum Collection On Advocacy for Trade

Aid For Trade

Advocacy for 'Aid for Trade'

The heart of the Doha Development Agenda is a trade and growth agenda that is of central importance to helping developing countries, and especially the least developed countries, to reach their Millennium Development Goals. "Aid for Trade" is about investing in developing countries so they can use trade as an engine for growth, development and poverty reduction. In the past 12 months, Aid for Trade has become an important political and economic complement to the negotiations, one that can con...

Getting the Framework Right

Despite some shortcomings, the Integrated Framework for Trade-Related Technical Assistance for Least Developed Countries (IF) is recognized as a sound basis for trade capacity building and coordination among assistance providers. The IF process was revamped in 2000. As a result, a diagnostic tool for trade development is now part of the process. The government must be able to provide the right leadership when both formulating and implementing trade development policies. Partnerships are impor...