Trade and International Trade

International Trade & Business WWW Reference Pages
This guide is offered by PACIFIC (Policy Analysis Computing & and Information Faciltiy in Computing) from the University of British Columbia. It provides a Dictionary of International Trade and Business, extensive exchange rate information and links to a number of other Internet sites dealing with international trade.

International Trade - Canada
Canada focused but a very useful site. Includes Canada's International Business Strategy (CIBS) by priority sectors, info on International Procurement and Capital Projects Opportunities, Assistance to Exporters, info on investing in Canada, Market Information by Region and Sector, Trade Policy, Trade Events, Shows and Summits, etc.

US International Trade Administration
Even though the ITA homepage is dedicated to helping U.S. businesses compete in the global marketplace, the information provided will be useful to anyone interested in international trade Do not miss their information directory on regions and countries.

Serra International
A Transportation and Trade commercial site with extensive free value added, it offers a combination (mostly external) of trade leads sites, country specific information, search engine, bulletin board for identifying trade opportunities, chat room and even weather information. A perfect example of how a commercial site can enhance many times its own appeal by including free value added information. Do not miss the import/export directory it's a gem.

International Trade Centre (ITC)
The International Trade Centre UNCTAD/WTO (ITC) is the focal point in the United Nations system for technical cooperation with developing countries in trade promotion. As an executing agency of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), ITC is directly responsible for implementing UNDP-financed projects in developing countries and economies in transition related to trade promotion.The site has very much improved lately and due to the richness of its infobase and related links it now ranks as an excellent site Do not miss their various indexes to market information sources and also the section on institutional capacity development for SMEs. Also of interest is the innovative virtual exhibition centre for artisanal products which unfortunately suffers from slow loading due to very nice but quite large graphics.

Agricultural Market Information Virtual Library
This web site serves as a guide to different sources on commodities market information presently available on the Internet.These sources may be daily, weekly, monthly or yearly reports, outlook reports, commodity reports or quotes from different exchanges. A rather specialized but excellent site.

Federation of International Trade Associations
The Federation of International Trade Associations (FITA) fosters international trade by strengthening the role of local, regional, and national associations throughout North America that have an international mission.The FITA index of web resources is just amazing. Do not miss the FITA Trade Lead Hub.

Portals of the world
Electronic resources on the nations of the world selected by Library of Congress subject experts. They are arranged by country or area with the links for each sorted into a wide range of broad categories. Excellent site essential for exporters trying to penetrate foreign markets.

Global Trade Negotiation Home Page
This site, maintained by Harvard University's Center for International Development, provides a centralized information resource on global trade negotiations, with a particular focus on the WTO Third Ministerial Conference and subsequent trade negotiations. An excellent site. One of its key features is the ability to access information either by actor or by issue.

International Trade Law Monitor
Initially hosted by the University of Tromso, Norway, this exceptional resource provides information and links related to international trade law. The ITL presents the full texts and where relevant country implementation details of several of the most important conventions and other documents used in International trade. In July 2000, the site (now called Lex Mercatoria) was acquired by Cameron May, an international law publishing firm. Although the initial free information is still available the site has also become a showroom for the firm's products, and its previously efficient and pleasant navigational structure has been changed.

International Trade Forum
The International Trade Forum is the magazine of the International Trade Centre (ITC). It focuses on trade promotion and export development, as part of ITC's technical cooperation programme with developing countries and economies in transition. The magazine is published quarterly in English, French and Spanish. Excellent site. Do not miss the sections on the various themes and more particularly the list of related sites on the various topics.

European Commission Directorate-General for Trade
Together with monetary and development policies, trade policy forms the main pillar of the European Union's relations with the rest of the world. Within the European Commission DG Trade has the task of conducting the Union's commercial policy and this site provides access to essential information on all the main aspects of trade in goods and services (tariff and non-tariff barriers, trade defence, particularly in cases of dumping and subsidies, export loans) as well as key aspects of intellectual property, investment and competition.

Eldis Trade Policy Resource Guide
The Trade Policy Resource Guide offers quick access to key documents, organizations, research themes, discussions and other key resources on international trade. Very good site. Do not miss the section on trade policy websites.

Emerging Markets Directory
The Emerging Markets Directory from GlobeScape Tectonics® provides selected links related to the emerging markets of Asia, Latin America, Europe, Africa, and the Middle East. Very good attempt to provide a global perspective on emerging markets.

U.S. Export Directory: A Basic Guide to Exporting
an excellent guide to exporting. US focused but very useful.

Global Connector
The Global Connector is managed by Indiana University's Center for International Business Education and Research (CIBER). This search engine puts the Internet's best sources of international business information at your fingertips in order to help you expand your business into new overseas markets. Search can be made on a country or industry basis in order to identify the best relevant websites and provide information on trade associations, trade publications, trade shows, international trade, etc. as well the domestic economy. Very good and useful site.

ExpoWorld.net
ExpoWorld.net is a an international trade meta site providing access to directories and search engines in order to identify and locate events, tradeshows, conferences and exhibitions worldwide. A very good site. What I liked best was their very useful newsletter (free)

United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD)
The official UNCTAD Website. Of particular interest their "Press and Reference" section and the newly opened "Least Developed Countries" Homepage.

WBI International Trade and Development
Part of the World Bank Institute (WBI), this website has been created as a research, training and outreach tool for people interested in trade policy and developing countries. Particular emphasis is placed on the new trade agenda associated with the present round of WTO negotiations. Of particular interest are the WTO 2000 Capacity Building Project Background Papers.

UNCTAD Trade Point Development Center
The UNTPDC offers traders a simple, one-stop access to a broad array of databases dealing with trade and investment including trade information, trade facilitation and trade procedures. Access to the UNTPDC Internet services is free of charge. Heavy on graphics but includes a text only version.

A Global Marketplace for SMEs"
The G-7 members took the opportunity of the G-7 Ministerial Conference on the Information Society held in Brussels on 25 & 26 February1995 to identify a number of international pilot projects whose aim is to demonstrate the potential of the Information Society and stimulate its development. Consequently, they launched as one of the projects"A Global Marketplace for SMEs", whose overall objective is to facilitate increased competitiveness and participation in global trade for SMEs by exploiting the opportunities offered by the development of the Global Information Society. This site has very much improved in the past 6 months especially their page on "Global Information Network on SMEs"

World Competitiveness On-Line
IMD is an independent not-for-profit foundation located in Lausanne, Switzerland whose mission is to understand current and future management issues and to share this learning in a practical manner with executives so they can better lead international corporations. Of particular interest is their "World Competitiveness on-line system" which presents on a monthly basis a unique analysis, ranking the competitiveness of 46 countries, based on 230 criteria.

Global Trade Center
Global Trade is the focus of the links on this page. They are posted here to assist individuals and businesses in their activities involving International Trade. An extensive meta-index providing numerous, well organised links. I particular liked their mailing list servers and their publications and news.

WTOWatch
WTOWatch, the global information center on the WTO, trade, and sustainable development, has been set up by the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (IATP), a nonprofit research and education organization whose mission is to create environmentally and economically sustainable communities and regions through sound agriculture and trade policy. Very interesting site, presenting mostly the views of the opponents to the WTO, while attempting to remain objective when describing the various issues at hand

U.S Patent and Trade Mark Office
Very much US focused but the link to US and International Legal Materials is really value added.

International Business Forum
The International Business Forum provides information about business opportunities in the international marketplace. It is intended for companies wishing to export or expand into foreign markets as well as for those interested to acquire products and services from other countries. A commercial site which enables companies to place advertisements and notices or to register in a business directory .

Export Source
"Export Source" combines an export guide, providing information on very concrete subjects such as export preparation, international project bids, trade show preparation, business trip planning, etc. ; and a powerful search engine through Industry Canada's Business Information databases. Although very much focused on Canada, it is a quite useful site. A bit slow in loading.

SBA Guide to Exporting
The U.S. Small Business Administration"s (SBA) Office of International Trade (OIT) developed this Trade Guide as an information tool to assist American business develop international markets. Although focused solely on the US it is a very useful site.

Marketing & International Business Links
This meta index of Marketing and International Business Links which contains more than 1200 useful sites is maintained by Professor Anwar of West Texas A&M University. Despite its limited site structure and the lack of decription of listed sites, it is quite interesting.

Groupe d'analyse des marchés internationaux
GRAMI has been created by " le Centre d'études en administration internationale (CETAI), de l'École des Hautes Études Commerciales (HEC)" in Montreal. Its mission is to collect, analyze and disseminate relevant business information and opportunities for Small and Medium Canadian Enterprises. Interesting information (market profiles by country or sector) although somewhat limited. This is a site with potential which would merit a better design (too many frames).

Mpost
Mpost defines itsetlf as the "Portal of Trade Portals". It includes a mailing board which lists offers to sell &/or buy and a very limited products showroom. Its best part is the link with other Trade Portals.

Openair-Market Net: Farmers' Markets, Street Vendors, Flea Markets and Street Markets
Markets in Cyberspace. It is an all-volunteer nonprofit educational project that aims to provide information about open air marketplaces around the world, both formal and informal. "Open air marketplaces function as business incubators and survival safety nets for people at the economic bottom, are fun places to shop, and promote sustainable development". A surprising but interesting site. Includes amongst others, links to current research on street markets and the informal sector

Forum for International Trade Training
Established in 1992, the Forum for International Trade Training (FITT) is a not-for-profit organization mandated by the Canadian government in partnership with the private sector to remedy the shortage of international trade skills and to improve the quality of training in international trade by establishing nation-wide standards. Interesting but limited free information.

IMEX Exchange
The IMEX Exchange, Inc. is dedicated to promoting international trade on the Internet, and through international trade, cooperation and understanding between nations and people. A commercial site offering free browsing. I particularly liked their trade leads.

I-TRADE The International Trade Resource and Data Exchange
I-TRADE, the International Trade Resource and Data Exchange system, is a commercial site providing international trade marketing and information source available on-line today. Provides a briefing service (for a fee) on global trade and market trends on a country by country basis. Emphasis on US and NAFTA. Provides links to pay-per-use or free services on trade information. Interesting but quickly limited unless you subscribe.

NAFTA Resources Directory
This site provides a list of resources on the Internet about the North American Free Trade Agreement and related trade agreements (WTO & GATT). A good site (if you are involved with NAFTA)

ExportHotline.com
Owned and operated by a US commercial corporation, this global business information service targets exporters and importers worldwide seeking to access valuable information to open new distribution channels and generate new revenue opportunities. The site includes a global business directory where buyers and sellers can register, as well as commercial guides and industry reviews on a country basis. You now have to pay in order to access information

The Trading Floor
A commercial site, the Trading Floor is designed to be an international trade commodity exchange area which covers a multitude of trade topics and information sources and offers a series of areas designed specifically for international traders to do business online and in realtime. The Trading Floor also has a large number of market research reports useful to traders in many sectors. According to a review done by DMI (http://www.dmintl.com) it has good content. However most of the links are accessible only through a password.

The Internationalist
The Internationalist claims to be the Center for International Business Information and the source for books, directories, publications, reports and maps on international business, import/export, international relations and world communications.