International Trade Forum articles from January 2002

International Trade Forum archives from January 2002

From the Editor.(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... All companies today face a highly competitive economic environment in global markets. Large corporations often have the resources to develop a competitive edge without recourse to trade support institutions. But for enterprises in developing...

Working our network.
January 1, 2002... Participants at the ITC Executive Forum 2001 in September were asked: is your network working? They could have turned the question back to us and asked ITC: is your own network working? Our answer would have been: yes, most definitely. The...

Is your trade support network working?(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... To be competitive in today's rapidly changing business environment, national export strategies must be redefined and trade support institutions (TSIs) must embrace new roles. To be effective, a national export strategy must be...

Making the best of craft trade fairs. (Market Profile).
January 1, 2002... Participation in international craft trade fairs is an efficient way for craft producers to showcase their products to export markets. The advantages include audience concentration, face-to-face communication, the opportunity to assess the...

Selected international craft trade fairs from ITC's web site. (Market Profile).
January 1, 2002... ARGENTINA (Cordoba): Artesanias -- Feria Internacional de Artesanias: Ceramic, leather, wood, metal, stone, textile, glass and paper items, musical instruments. Date/length: ten days in March/April (tel. +54-351 4810759, fax 4890023). ...

Don't be off-colour.
January 1, 2002... One of the major mistakes artisanal producers can make is to design their craft products in styles or colours that are no longer appealing to their target markets. In fact, the style and appearance of products can change very rapidly and the...

Helping SMEs get wiser to consumer choice. (Exporting Better).(excerpt of interview with Canadian businesswoman Barbara Mowat)(Interview)
January 1, 2002... How does a home-based craft business showcase its products on international markets? One answer is through a private sector-driven trade support network, an example of which is found in the Canadian province of British Columbia. Businesswoman...

Uniquely Slovenia draws on Canadian expertise. (Exporting Better).(excerpt of interview with)(Slovenia's Small Business Development Centre director Zdenka Kovac)(Interview)
January 1, 2002... Can the successes achieved by the Uniquely B.C. Creative Arts Show and the Uniquely Canada Show be transferred to a developing or transition country? The experience of Slovenia, whose trade officials hired Barbara Mowat and her team to help...

Innovation, specialization and E-finance for SMEs. (Exporting Better).
January 1, 2002... Access to finance is still a major limiting factor for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in most countries, and particularly in developing countries. In general, banks refuse credit to SMEs because they are perceived as risky and...

Is your trade support network working? (International Trade Centre).
January 1, 2002... A Checklist for the National Strategy- making Team The Executive Forum on National Export Strategies is structured as a debate on "best practice" among "national strategy teams" from developing and transition economies. Each team consists...

Voices from the ITC Executive Forum.(International Trade Centre)(Brief Article)(Panel Discussion)
January 1, 2002... Argument for private sector lead "According to our experience in Guatemala, trade promotional activities have better results when led by the private sector. The private sector has a better understanding of SME needs and it is easier to...

Network, what network? (Close Up).(trade support networks in developing countries)
January 1, 2002... Does your trade support network help promote your export strategy? For many countries, the question follows on from another issue: why have a trade support strategy at all? Very few developed countries have a national strategy for trade support...

Networking: formal or informal? (Partners News and Views).(export development in New Zealand)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... Over the years, New Zealand has adopted or tried out a variety of formal and informal network structures for export development. On the basis of this experience, a strong case has emerged for creating a formal structure around the national...

A focal point approach to export promotion.(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... The Export Development Board (EDB) of Sri Lanka was set up in 1979 by an Act of Parliament as the focal point export promotion organization. At that time the economy was liberalized with the state recognizing the private sector as the "engine...

Talking networks: between rhetoric and reality. (Partners News and Views).(trade support institutions)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... There is little doubt that in this age of globalization, speed and digital distance, the effectiveness of a trade support institution (TSI) is relative to its ability to participate actively in formal and informal networks. Without networks and...

Keep the model under review.(interview, Raul Arguelles, deputy president of Export Development)(Interview)
January 1, 2002... During the 1980s, Mexico ambitiously began modernizing and transforming its economy at all levels in order to participate more fully in the global marketplace. This included developing a commercial policy based on liberalization, deregulation,...

New realities and assistance for traders and trade policy-makers. (Partners News and Views).(movement toward "corporate social responsibility" )
January 1, 2002... Today, new challenges face both strategy-makers and business as we put new demands on trade to serve broader objectives than just to increase commerce. However, new networks are springing up that aim to help both sides in the dialogue --...

Where do we go from here? (Partners News and Views).(goal of the Executive Forums on National Export Strategies )(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... The ITC's three Executive Forums to date have dealt with the need to redefine trade promotion strategy, the challenge of the digital economy and how to ensure trade support networks are working. The logical question now is, "What do we need to...

Africa trade week in Nairobi launches partnerships. (ITC News).(the first ITC Africa Trade Week held in Nairobi, Kenya)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... Trade support, telecommunications and business leaders came together with representatives from humanitarian organizations and African producers at the first ITC Africa Trade Week held in Nairobi, Kenya, in the last week of November 2001,...

Buying from Africa for Africa. (ITC News).(development and disaster relief efforts in Africa)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... International aid agencies including United Nations agencies and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) spend large amounts on procuring goods and services for development and disaster relief operations. Most of this aid goes to Africa, but...

ITC's Executive Director launches Viet Nam's E-trade bridge kick-off meeting. (ITC News).(International Trade Council)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... In January ITC organized its first e-trade bridge meeting in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City in Viet Nam. The meeting aimed to identify national action priorities to improve the ability of Vietnamese small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to...

First Regional Executive Forum held in Nairobi. (In Brief).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... Trade support, telecommunications and business leaders from eight African countries took part in the first Regional Executive Forum organized by ITC as part of the inaugural Africa Trade Week, Nairobi. The three-day meeting revealed That...

E-trade meeting -- project to find Kenya's e-winners. (In Brief).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... The first kick-off meeting of the e-trade bridge programme was an innovative two-day meeting of the nation's governmental telecoms experts, local businesses that have made their mark on the Internet, academics and trade support specialists. The...

LatinPharma assists developing country pharmaceutical industries. (In Brief).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... As a follow-up to developments at the Fourth World Trade Organization (WTO) Ministerial Conference in Doha, Qatar in November 2001, ITC has organized a series of activities focusing entirely on the pharmaceutical sector in Central America. The...

International Trade Bulletins.(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... ITC produces a variety of international trade bulletins which complement ITC's books and technical papers. To subscribe, contact the relevant sections of ITC listed below. * Market News Service. Price and market information for nine...

Innovating for success in the export of services: a handbook. (Latest ITC Books).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... 84 pages. Handbook on services innovation (identifying unmet needs and designing services for them) as a tool for enhancing export profitability -- approaches innovation as a competitive strategy; describes characteristics of services...

International trade rules: an answer book on the WTO agreements for small and medium-sized exporters. (Latest ITC Books).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... 134 pages. Revised edition of the publication International Trade Rules: Business Questions about the World Trading System and WTO, issued in year 2000 as a Technical Paper. Intended mainly for use by small and medium-sized enterprises in...

Successful services exporting: a handbook for firms, associations and governments. (Latest ITC Books).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... (Rev. ed.) 164 pages. Handbook on services trade, aimed at enterprises, associations and government bodies -- provides guidelines and practical hints on successful exporting, applicable to a wide range of services sectors.

World markets for organic fruit and vegetables: opportunities for developing countries in the production and export of organic horticultural products. (Latest Technical Materials).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... 312 pages (Technical Paper). The publication presents the recent findings of a joint FAO/ITC/CTA study on international trade in fresh organic fruit and vegetables. It provides detailed information on demand for these products in the world's...

Major Markets for cotton T-shirts. (Latest Technical Materials).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... 115 pages (Technical Paper). Market survey on cotton T-shirts in the European Union (with particular reference to Germany, the Netherlands and Sweden), United States and Japan -- discusses international textile trade in general terms and in...

Trade in euro: a guide for enterprises and trade support agencies in developing and transition countries. (Latest Technical Materials).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... 80 pages (Technical Paper). Guide analysing implications of the introduction of the euro for small and medium enterprises in developing countries, it describes economic, commercial and financial environment resulting from creation of the...

Trade in Services: an answer book for small and medium-sized exporters. (Latest ITC Books).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... 137 pages. Guide for small and medium-sized enterprises in the services sectors; provides practical advice to help them improve their export performance or enter new markets. Using a question-and-answer format, the topics covered include the...