International Trade Centre

Launched in 2016 following Afghanistan’s accession to the WTO under the name “Afghanistan: Trade for Economic Growth & Regional Cooperation”, is an initiative undertaken by the European Union (EU) and the ITC that uses trade as a mean to create economic growth and jobs, to reduce poverty and to enhance regional cooperation. The programme consists of a three-year plan (2016-2019) and the Ministry of Commerce and Industry is involved in its implementation. It is funded by the EU and has a budget of 4.5 million Euros.[6]

The Ethical Fashion Initiative focuses on the specific skills of artisans and brings them to known fashion brands such as Stella McCartney, Marni, Vivienne Westwood, Edun and Camper. This synergy helps artisans from developing countries such as Kenya, Burkina Faso and Haiti to gain a living while it exposes the designers to unique skills and handmade goods. The initiative also involves mentorship programmes for aspiring African designers as well as collaborations on the continent.[7]

ITC developed several free-of-charge online market analysis tools such as the Export Potential Map,[8] Investment Map,[9] Market Access Map,[9] Procurement Map,[10] Standard Map[11] andTrade Map.[12]

The EuroMed Trade and Investment Facilitation Mechanism comprises a free-of-charge online portal for country and product-specific information on tariffs and duties, import and export procedures, and market requirements. There are regular updates of the information thanks to a network of national focal points in each participating Mediterranean country. The EuroMed Helpdesk is available in English, French, Arabic, and Turkish.

The goal is to boost economic integration because due partly to a lack of availability and transparency of trade-related information, EuroMed countries don’t engage a lot in intra-regional trade.

The project is funded by the European Union (EU). ITC is in charge of the implementation of the EuroMed Trade and Investment Facilition Mechanism.[13]

The EU-Sri Lanka Trade-Related Assistance project aims to increase the trade competitiveness of Sri Lankan Small and Medium Size Enterprises (SMEs) in regional and European Union (EU) markets.

The project has a duration of four years and is worth 8 million euros. It is funded by the European Union (EU). It supports SME export competitiveness and value addition in various sectors such as spices, food and Information Technology.[14]

The project addresses compliance standards and efficiencies in cross border procedures, which are key constraints to market access, especially for SMEs.[15]

The Gambia Youth Empowerment Project (YEP) aims at the enhancement of the skills and employability of potential and returning migrants. ITC supports youth employment and entrepreneurship through vocational trainings and partnerships with domestic and international skills development institutions and the private sector.[16]

The Netherlands Trust Fund III (NTF III) - Export Sector Competitiveness Programme started in 2013 as successor following NTF I and NTF II. It is based on a partnership agreement between the Dutch Centre for the Promotion of Imports from developing countries (CBI) affiliated to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands and the ITC. The aim of the programme is to strengthen the export competitiveness of IT services in Bangladesh, Kenya and Uganda,[17] as well as the tourism sector in Myanmar,[18] the avocado producers in Kenya, and coffee plantations in Uganda.[19]

The Non-tariff measures programme provides an interactive platform that fosters transparency and understanding of the obstacles that non-tariff measures pose to international trade by limiting exports and imports through compliance to specific requirements.

The programme is a multi-agency initiative that helps countries to find solutions that take their respective specific needs into account. The Non-tariff measures programme is in close collaboration with national and regional stakeholders.[20]

The Promoting Intra-regional Trade programme launched in 2013 focuses increasing the export competitiveness of honey, mango and spice producing SMEs in Kenya, the United Republic of Tanzania[21] and Zambia. It is a three-year programme that is implemented by the ITC in collaboration with lead organizations in each country.

The Government of Finland finances the Promoting Intra-regional Trade Programme.[22]

The certified natural resource based product market helps to reduce poverty and is good for the environment. However, standards and regulations as well as a lack of information and contact pose important obstacles for many entrepreneurs in developing countries to enter this market. The international regulatory framework poses further constraints on this trade. The ITC through its Trade and Environment Programme tries mitigate these constraints and to increase the capacity of SMEs to be competitive in this market.[23]

The Women and Trade Programme is an initiative aiming at connecting 1 million women entrepreneurs to trade by 2020. This initiative thereby contributes directly to the SDG number 5 by empowering women.[24]

Within the Women and Trade context, the SheTrades initiative, which is a flagship program of the ITC, takes a preeminent place offering women entrepreneurs an online platform to connect to markets. The app allows female entrepreneurs to share information about their companies thereby increasing their visibility and enabling them to connect and internationalize. This helps to include more women entrepreneurs in the supply chains of corporations.

The platform was developed through a competition of suggestions for the platform. The winner, Greenbell Communications of Kenya, was able to team up with Google and CI&T to further develop his suggestion. The end product, the SheTrades platform, was launched in 2015 at the International Women in Business Forum in Nairobi. Since its launch, a growing number of organizations have already signed on to the platform to verify women entrepreneurs that are members of their networks.[25]

The Youth and Trade Programme focuses on providing a strong environment in which young entrepreneurs can evolve and receive assistance when needed. This helps them to grow and internationalize while at the same time providing income opportunities thereby helping the economy grow.

The programme contributes directly to the Sustainable Development Goal 4 (Skills for entrepreneurship) as well as goal 8 (decent work and inclusive growth).[26][27]

The Export Potential map is an online tool allowing businesses and countries to identify what goods and services to export and to where. The idea is that through the precise economic analysis provided by the Export Potential Map, companies can target new markets and policymakers can optimize their policies and support programmes for their exporters.

The Export Potential Map covers information about 222 countries and territories.[8]

The Investment Map is designed to help investment promotion agencies (IPAs) in defining priority sectors for investment promotion, identifying potential investors in a given sector, identifying competitor countries for inward investment, and defining opportunities for bilateral investment. It holds a vast amount of information and statistics on foreign direct investment and international trade, tariff data and activities of multinational firms and allows an analysis by country, trading partner and sector.

The Investment Map was developed by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and ITC in partnership with the World Association of Investment Promotion Agencies (WAIPA) and the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA), which is part of the World Bank Group.[9]

Market Access Map is a tool which provides information on applied customs tariffs including MFN tariffs and preferences granted unilaterally and reciprocally in the framework of regional and bilateral trade agreements. Users can find ad valorem equivalents (AVEs) for non-ad valorem duties in order to compare tariffs across countries and simulate tariff reduction scenarios. The application also covers tariff rate quotas, trade remedies, rules of origin as well as corresponding documentation, bound tariffs of WTO members, non-tariff measures (NTMs) and trade flows to help users prioritize and analyse export markets as well as prepare for market access negotiations.[28]

The Rules of Origin Facilitator provides free and user-friendly access to ITC’s database of rules of origin and origin-related documentation in hundreds of trade agreements. The Facilitator is also combined with the huge tariff and trade agreements databases underlying the Market Access Map, resulting in a market intelligence solution enabling companies, particularly ones from developing countries, to benefit from trade agreements worldwide. The Facilitator currently contains a data for more than 250 FTAs applied by more than 190 countries. This database is gradually expanding with the ultimate goal to cover over 400 FTAs and preferential schemes that are currently active in the world.

The Facilitator aims to help small and medium sized enterprises to increase trade by taking advantage of global trade opportunities in the form of low duty rates under trade agreements. The tool can also be used by policymakers, trade negotiators, economists as well as various other users. Any user can simply look for information on origin criteria, other origin provisions, and trade documentation by entering the HS code of their product.[29]

The Procurement Map was designed by the ITC in order to boost entrepreneurship and market opportunities by offering users detailed information over 150 000 public tenders. The map allows users to undertake a search by country or economic sector. This allows them to identify potential buyers.[10]

The Standard Map provides verified and transparent information on more than 200 voluntary sustainability standards and other similar initiatives covering issues ranging from food quality to safety. This allows producers, manufacturers, brands, retailers, researchers and policymakers to identify standards relevant for their own businesses, to compare them and save and share their sustainability diagnostic report with actors along the value chain via the Sustainability Network.[11]

The Trade Map developed by the ITC offers strategic market research with detailed statistical information on international trade flows helps them gauge the competitiveness of national and sectoral trade performance and identify priority products and markets for trade development for both firms and trade support institutions.[30]

SheTrades Global is a two-day annual conference. The first forum took place in 2011 and until 2018 the conference was called Women Vendors Exhibition and Forum.[14]

The Trade for Sustainable Development Forum (T4SD) is an annual event organized by the ITC.

T4SD connects communities in policy and business, trade and sustainability, while challenging thought leaders to bridge the gap between debates on sustainability standards, supply chains, and international trade to work towards achieving the UN Global Goals for Sustainable Development (SDGs).[16]

Created in 1996 with the intention to offer a platform to facilitate the dynamic exchange of information, good practices, experiences and collaboration about offering export-oriented services among Trade Promotion Organizations (TPOs), the Trade Promotion Organization Network provides a platform where individual organizations may benefit from the synergies of TPOs working together in order to achieve continual and mutual improvement through online and offline forums.

The TPO Network World Conference takes place every two years and is open to all trade support institutions mandated to provide trade related technical support services.

During the conference, TPO Network Awards are awarded to leading national trade promotion organisations mandated by their governments to promote the export promotion strategy of their countries. TPOs participate in the TPO Network Awards in categories defined according to the economic development status of the countries where their national headquarters are located.[31]

The World Export Development Forum (WEDF) is an annual global platform with the goal to develop SMEs. The first conference was held in 1999. The event is attended by more than 600 senior national and international policymakers, heads of trade support organizations, business leaders and representatives of international agencies.

WEDF comprises high-level plenaries, workshops and facilitated business-to-business meetings enabling participants to increase their practical knowledge in the latest innovations, processes and policies while expanding their networks.[32]

ITC, with its goal to support SMEs and their development impact in international trade, collaborates with its partner organizations, the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), for events in order to achieve its aim. Examples for this partnership include amongst others the WTO Public Forum and Aid for Trade conference.