ITC publications bring the business voice to sustainable trade, with a focus on developing countries. We offer guidance for trade policymakers, business support organizations and small firms. Our reports offer insights to make trade more inclusive, green, digital and competitive.
A survey of 600 exporters and importers in Tunisia shows that 80% face difficulties with non-tariff measures, which generate extra costs for companies. Tunisian firms face barriers such as burdensome conformity assessment procedures, quotas and complicated rules of origin. There are also procedural...
Lack of adequate SPS infrastructure and a recognized national standards body in the country is one of the primary causes of difficulties faced by Cambodian exporters, according to ITC’s new country study on non-tariff measures. A survey of 502 exporters and importers in Cambodia finds 69% of the...
Global value chains in services can boost economies of small developing countries. The case of Costa Rica illustrates how global value chains in services can enable small developing countries to be significant actors in twenty-first century trade and investment patterns, as well as the challenges to...
Understanding the global demand for environmental goods and services can unlock new export opportunities for developing country SMEs. This study provides a market overview of this complex sector, which reached an estimated US$ 866 billion in 2011, and is expected to rise to US$ 1.9 trillion by 2020...
The right mix of national trade policy and regulations can give businesses export competitiveness and a jump-start in global value chains. This guide brings together the combination of policy instruments to lift export competitiveness: tariffs and non-tariff measures; trade facilitation initiatives;...
Government procurement offers a unique route to empower women and combat poverty, as this new ITC guide explains. Public procurement accounts for over 30% of GDP in developing countries and some 10-15% of GDP in developed countries. Women-owned businesses have been largely excluded from this...
This ITC 50th anniversary publication explores new opportunities to connect small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in developing countries to global markets, provides recommendations for trade assistance and presents a road map for ITC’s future work.
Small firms in developing countries are using social media to find new clients and generate trade. This guide advises on how to develop a successful social media strategy with a tight budget. Using real business cases and the latest ways to measure the real-time impact of social media campaigns,...
With health tourism on the rise, this study draws upon four Asian countries - India, Malaysia, Thailand and the Philippines – to offer insight into how developing countries can attract a greater share in this industry. The study is relevant for all countries exploring market opportunities in...
Streamlining government procedures, improving transport maintenance and IT infrastructure, and better dissemination of trade-related information are cited as keys to improving Kenya’s export performance, in a new ITC country study on non-tariff measures. Two-thirds of companies surveyed in...
This is the first training guide that helps tea farmers and factories lower their emissions and reduce energy costs. It was created with the Ethical Tea Partnership, the Rainforest Alliance and FLOCERT using a Kenya Tea Development Agency factory as a pilot case. Climate change is already having an...
