International Trade Forum articles from January 2003

International Trade Forum archives from January 2003

From the editor.
January 1, 2003... Can countries create and sustain export strategies that will foster growth and development as well as exploit commercial opportunity? Not all countries have explicit national export strategies, and fewer still have documented and measured...

Managing competitive advantage: successful national export strategies are based on identifying a country's competitive advantage and understanding how to make the most of it. (ITC Speaks).
January 1, 2003... Developing and transition economies, almost by definition, face severe resource constraints when organizing trade development and export promotion. Existing trade support programmes are likely to lack funding, and financing isn't available to...

A country's competitive advantage.
January 1, 2003... A business environment that fosters national competitiveness pays dividends across the board. Whatever its stage of development, expo strategies that support innovation and use of technology will help a country move forward. Recent studies...

Value chain analysis: a strategy to increase export earnings. (Exporting Better).
January 1, 2003... An innovative, sector-based approach to competitiveness focuses on getting more value from goods and services produced for export. Value chain analysis can help developing countries make the most of their exports. From the perspective of...

A closer look: in-country business alliances. (Exporting Better).
January 1, 2003... Relying on foreign direct investment alone is a risky path to export growth. From industrial clusters to contract farming, export production villages and hard business networks, in-country strategy options deserve a second look. "Export...

Is there a case for national branding? can national branding improve export competitiveness? Branding experts, business executives and government officials debated the issue as part of the Executive Forum process. (Exporting Better).
January 1, 2003... When looking at strategies to increase national exports, decision-makers typically consider options such as promoting priority sectors, encouraging investment, the role of ICT (information and communication technology), market research and...

Tourism: it's about managing competitiveness, too. (Exporting Better).
January 1, 2003... Tourism is a key industry to promote for a country seeking to increase its foreign revenues. For national strategy-makers, both optimism and caution are in order. Tourism is changing. Only a generation ago, relatively few people travelled...

Measuring performance. (Exporting Better).
January 1, 2003... For a county maintaining competitive advantage means managing the system which supports export development -- and measuring performance. The tools are available Nevertheless they are rarely used particularly by developing countries. Why is this...

Putting it all together: ITC's template for strategy-makers. (Exporting Better).
January 1, 2003... Sustained improvement in export performance relies on a comprehensive, realistic national export strategy and the capacity to manage it. The fact is, however, that few developing countries have invested in formulating a national export...

Executive Forum 2003: encouraging business advocacy. (Exporting Better).
January 1, 2003... The next ITC/seco Executive Forum will take place in Cancun, Mexico on the eve of the WTO Ministerial Conference, and will include Bancomext among the co-hosts. Five years ago, ITC launched the Executive Forum series to help developing and...

At a glance: Executive Forum on national export strategies. (Exporting Better).
January 1, 2003... The Executive Forum has evolved from an annual debate among export strategy leaders in business and government, to a network of contacts, with case studies, tools and recommendations for successful export strategies. The Executive Forum...

On the agenda: World Conference of Trade Promotion Organizations; new TPO awards and innovative export management approaches will mark the next gathering, which will take place in Malta in 2004. (Partners News and Views).
January 1, 2003... "Thinking outside of the box" will be the driving concept behind the next World Conference of Trade Promotion Organizations, which will be held in Malta in the last quarter of 2004. The event will be co-hosted by the Malta External Trade...

Exploring new trade partnerships for LDCs. (ITC News).
January 1, 2003... New opportunities for least developed countries (LDCs) have little to do with the past, thanks, in part, to globalization and new information technologies. Few are aware of the promising grass-roots stories of LDC exporters. A new generation of...

Progress in Lesotho on the integrated framework: how does cooperation for trade development in LDCs work in practice? (Partners News and Views).
January 1, 2003... The Government of Lesotho is forging ahead to integrate into the global economy through the development of pro-poor trade policies. At a national conference in February 2003, government representatives, UN agencies, private sector, civil...

ITC Executive Director reappointed for three-year term. (In Brief).
January 1, 2003... Mr. J. Denis Belisle of Canada has been reappointed as Executive Director of the International Trade Centre by Mr. Kofi Annan, Secretary-General of the United Nations. The appointment, which runs until June 2006, is made on the...

ITC adopts new visual identity. (In Brief).
January 1, 2003... International Trade Centre USCTAD/WTO ITC has adopted a new image and logo, based on the design of its flagship communications product International Trade Forum. The magazine's content and design were restructured in 1999; subsequent...

TFOC of Canada and ITC join forces to develop trade in Africa.
January 1, 2003... The Trade Facilitation Office of Canada and ITO signed a Memorandum of Agreement in March 2003 to help African exporters boost their potential, through a five-year, 8 million Canadian dollar (US$ 5 million) programme funded by the Canadian...

In Africa, ITC promotes services exports by women entrepreneurs.
January 1, 2003... Workshops in Nigeria, Mauritius and Mozambique took place in February as part of ITC's work to promote gender in trade development and increase exports of services from developing countries. The workshops were aimed at women entrepreneurs...