International Trade Forum articles from October 2006

International Trade Forum archives from October 2006

Talking up trade.(Editorial)
October 1, 2006... In development circles, trade is becoming accepted as a way to address poverty. Among the broader public, however, few make the link between trade and poverty reduction. Trade is seen as an "insider" or elite topic, not a subject of dinner...

What people don't know about trade and why they need to know.(Advocacy for Trade)(global commerce)
October 1, 2006... Trade topics rarely maize for dinner table conversation or work-break chats by the water cooler. The public may know that international trade affects their daily lives. But people have a sense of unease. They don't know exactly how global...

Has public support for free trade reached its peak? A recent survey in the United States and Europe indicates the challenge facing communicators in turning support for trade into further lowering of trade barriers.(Advocacy for Trade)
October 1, 2006... According to the German Marshall Fund of the United States, in all six countries it surveyed in 2005 and 2006, people's views on globalization are more favourable compared to last year. Majorities in each country favour foreign companies...

Reporting on trade a Kenyan view: the media has a duty to inform the public about trade matters that affect their lives. But with limited resources and too little interaction with trade bodies, Southern journalists have a hard time.(Advocacy for Trade)
October 1, 2006... Covering trade issues in the South is no mean feat when most of the drama and decision-making sessions take place a long way away and government bodies do not want to part with information. Yet journalists are supposed to be the watchdog...

Strengthening trade coverage in the media: how can trade experts and journalists work together to make sense of global change?
October 1, 2006... 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...

In pictures advocacy for trade: an Oxfam campaign used celebrities to raise awareness about dumping goods in world markets.(Brief article)
October 1, 2006... The Colombian coffee growers' national branding campaign helped make Colombian coffee known worldwide and built its reputation for quality. For over four decades, campaigns featuring fictional coffee producer, Juan Valdez, and his Conchita,...

Developing your message: invest in developing your message--what drives you and makes you stand out.
October 1, 2006... Working with educators, parliamentarians, journalists or others who influence the public can help build understanding of the potential of trade. The perspectives on public attitudes about trade, campaign practices and reporting challenges...

Trade Forum collection on advocacy for trade.(Advocacy for Trade)
October 1, 2006... Trade Forum articles address ways to build awareness of the potential of trade, from building coalitions to developing a national brand, to working with NGOs, students and journalists, to using web sites effectively, and more. These articles...

Advocacy for "Aid for Trade": Aid for Trade has become an important element of the World Trade Organization's work in the past year, a job that requires it to take on an advocacy and coordination role.(Aid for Trade)
October 1, 2006... 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 (LDCs), to reach their Millennium Development Goals. "Aid...

Aid for Trade a wider scope: interview with Ambassador Mia Horn at Rantzien, chair, WTO Aid for Trade Task Force.(World Trade Organization)(Interview)
October 1, 2006... Go beyond trade policy when addressing what you need to improve your country's trade performance, recommends the Aid for Trade Task Force. Q Is Aid for Trade worth it for developing countries? A From the development standpoint--which...

Aid for Trade: we can do better: turning aid recipients into consumers, and enabling them to take charge of the process, will help to make aid for trade more effective.(Aid for Trade)
October 1, 2006... "We in the developing countries must own the development agenda, and our partners have to align their support to our agenda, our priorities and the sequencing we have set for ourselves. Development cannot be imposed, it can only be...

Getting the framework right: country ownership, a stronger voice for business and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and stronger institutional backing are essential lessons from a valuable process to coordinate trade assistance in the world's poorest countries.(Aid for Trade)
October 1, 2006... 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. First...

At a glance: ITC's role in Aid for Trade.(Aid for Trade)(International Trade Centre)
October 1, 2006... Why Aid for Trade is important Developing countries cannot take advantage of market access agreements if they do not have competitive goods and services to export. They need assistance in building the capacity to trade in challenging world...

ITC moves forward: the views of ITC clients and donors are helping the new management team to shape the ITC of tomorrow, in a changing environment for trade development.(ITC News)(International Trade Centre)
October 1, 2006... ITC's 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 centre of technical...

ITC-China partnership evolves: China is expanding its cooperation with ITC and with developing countries.(ITC News)(Brief article)
October 1, 2006... China's Vice Minister of Commerce, Yi Xiaozhun, met with ITC's Executive Director, Patricia Francis, in November 2006 to explore cooperation to reduce poverty in rural China and support China's growing trade and investment ties to Africa. ...

Fruitful cooperation with Shaanxi Province.(ITC News)(Brief article)
October 1, 2006... Three years ago, most apple farmers and exporters in Tongchuan City, Shaanxi Province of China had not heard about EurepGAP standards. The standards concern food quality, protection of the environment and workers' health and safety. Meeting...

African cotton exports.(ITC News)(International Trade Centre)(Brief article)
October 1, 2006... ITC is working with the Chinese Ministry of Commerce to help African cotton growers gain a foothold in the Chinese market. In September, they jointly organized a 17-day training programme in Beijing and in Xinjiang Province, a major cotton...

Asia Trust Fund is on track: this fast-track facility for trade assistance in Asia is responding well to new Asian needs.(ITC News)
October 1, 2006... Since its launch in September 2004, the Asia Trust Fund (ATF)--funded mainly by the European Union (EU)--has been recognized as a demand-driven facility that has responded effectively to urgent and new needs for trade-related technical...

Trade institutions meet on management training for exporters.(ITC News)(Brief article)(Conference notes)
October 1, 2006... The annual meeting of network members of ITC's e-Trade Bridge programme in Izmir, Turkey, in November 2006 helped trade institutions in 25 countries compare notes on how they are helping small firms use communications technology to manage their...

African services associations meet: service sector associations representing thousands of firms from 13 African countries met with South African construction, transportation and financial services firms at a "Bridges Across Borders" event in Centurion, South Africa, in November 2006.(ITC News)
October 1, 2006... 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...

Building up commercial dispute resolution in Africa: commercial arbitration and alternative dispute resolution are gaining ground in African countries, helping to improve the investment and business climate.(ITC News)
October 1, 2006... Over 20 African countries have set up arbitration and mediation centres since 1995, usually under a national chamber of commerce. They have flourished in part as alternatives to overburdened courts. The challenge now is to strengthen these new...

Utz Kapeh and ITC to develop African premium coffee.(ITC News)(International Trade Center)
October 1, 2006... In September 2006, Utz Kapeh, a non-governmental organization, signed an agreement with ITC to develop the supply of certified, socially and environmentally responsible coffee in Ethiopia and Zambia. Two pilot projects will help poor...

Coffee experts offer online Q&A service.(ITC News)(Brief article)
October 1, 2006... ITC's online question-and-answer (Q&A) service for coffee producers and exporters had answered 100 questions by July 2006, after a year in operation. It is unique in the coffee industry. Five coffee trade experts based on three continents...

Trade Forum online your comments: readers comment on Trade Forum articles online.(ITC News)
October 1, 2006... Earlier this year, we launched a comments feature for readers of Trade Forum online. You can use it to send reactions to specific articles, contact authors or share information on related topics or events you are organizing. We set up the...

Buenos Aires welcomes rescheduled World TPO Conference.(ITC News)
October 1, 2006... Fundacion Export.ar, the national trade promotion organization (TPO) of Argentina, will host the rescheduled 6th World Conference of Trade Promotion Organizations in Buenos Aires, Argentina on 12-13 March 2007. The conference will be...

Helping service firms to manage quality: a new guide helps smalls service firms meet international standards in quality management, in order to boost their competitiveness.(ITC News)(ISO 9001:2000, A Workbook for Service Organizations)(Brief article)(Book review)
October 1, 2006... According to the World Trade Organization, the value of world commercial services trade increased in 2004 by 16% to $2.1 trillion. One way that organizations in developing countries can increase their share in the global market for services is...

Business Guide to Trade Remedies in Canada: Anti-dumping, countervailing and safeguards legislation, practices and procedures.(New Books and Technical Papers)(Book review)
October 1, 2006... 181 pages, revised edition. Guide focusing on the Canadian trade remedy system. Provides an overview of the world trading environment and the WTO trade remedy system. Highlights Canada's anti-dumping and countervailing measures systems;...

Business Guide to Trade Remedies in the United States: Anti-dumping, countervailing and safeguards legislation, practices and procedures.(New Books and Technical Papers)(Brief article)(Book review)
October 1, 2006... 226 pages, revised edition. Guide to trade remedy procedures (anti-dumping, countervailing and safeguard) aimed at exporters from developing countries and transition economies, with particular reference to trade remedy legislation and practices...

Finance for Trade.(New Books and Technical Papers)(Brief article)(Book review)
October 1, 2006... 129 pages. (Trade Finance Series.) Guide describing appropriate mechanisms and instruments that could be adapted and introduced by developing and transition economies to help improve the financing of trade by the private sector, with particular...

ISO 9001:2000--A workbook for service organizations.(New Books and Technical Papers)(Brief article)(Book review)
October 1, 2006... 116 pages. Joint ITC/International Organization for Standardization (ISO) publication, presenting a set of questions, checklists and planning guides for streamlining the internal process of conformities to ISO 9001:2000 standard by professional...