Publications

Standards and regulations have a major impact on SME competitiveness.

The design of governance structure of social and environmental sustainability standards determines how accessible they are to producers in developing countries.The increase in consumer demand for sustainable trade has given rise to a growing array of social and environmental standards. This joint...

Standards and regulations have a major impact on SME competitiveness.

A regional services industries group can help boost trade in services in the COMESA region, as this joint ITC-COMESA Business Council report shows.Services account for over 50% of GDP for most countries in the region. To grow internationally, services industries can work across borders to counter...

Jointly published by ITC, WTO and UNCTAD, this annual report presents tariff-based market access conditions for goods imposed by 164 WTO Members and other countries. The report contains aggregated product statistics; tariffs imposed and faced by each economy; and an overview of non-tariff...

The Environmental Mainstreaming Guide provides International Trade Centre (ITC) project managers with tools to assess environmental considerations in project planning and implementation, in order to mitigate risks, enhance resilience and seize opportunities to expand trade in sustainable goods and...

While most SMEs adopt loss prevention and reduction measures, they do not engage in a formal risk management processes, and a vast majority ignores risk treatment. SMEs need support and skills to implement a risk management strategy sequentially, to minimize loss and exposure through...

Standards and regulations have a major impact on SME competitiveness.

This joint UNESCAP-ITC report advocates for mainstreaming trade facilitation in development strategies for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).It highlights the potential for SME centres to share information on trade procedures, organize consultations on trade facilitation and provide other...

This report is a starting point for public-private dialogue to address e-commerce bottlenecks, especially for small firms in developing countries. Small firms face policy challenges in four processes typical to all e-commerce: establishing online business, international e-payment, international...

The SME Competitiveness Outlook argues that small and medium-sized firms are the ‘missing link’ to inclusive growth.

By integrating mediation and arbitration clauses into their international contracts, small firms can better protect themselves. International business brings new opportunities -- and new risks, especially for small firms venturing into new markets with different languages, cultures and legal...