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ITC begins operations

The secretariat of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) creates the International Trade Centre (ITC), providing it with four employees and an annual budget of $50,000. ITC begins operations in Villa Le Bocage, Geneva. That same year, the first edition of Trade Forum is published.

An agency for technical export expertise

ITC is designated as the UN focal point for technical assistance and export promotion.

Going for the millions

ITC's annual technical cooperation programme hits $10 million for the first time.

A new home

ITC's new headquarters in Geneva is officially inaugurated.

Weighting pineapple after harvest, Kenya (c) FAO

A new era starts

The UN Development Programme grants executive agency status to ITC.

Producing wooden household furniture for export in Singapore (c)ITC-Rossier

Shifting focus

ITC shifts focus to training and capacity-building programmes.

About ITC (video)

Expanding its cooperation outreach

Extra-budgetary funds from donors fuel more than 70% of ITC's annual expenditures.

Jean-Denis Bélisle, ITC Executive Director and Pascal Lamy, WTO Director-General

ITC's new road map

ITC sets out a strategic 'road map' to chart new responses to a changing trade landscape, including the new World Trade Organization.

Participants attending a session on Export Strategy

ITC's first Executive Forum

The first Executive Forum, later renamed World Export Development Forum, is held on "Redefining Trade Promotion".

ITC, Malta Enterprise and Award winners standing on the podium with the awards in their hands

Joseph Zammit Tabona, Chairman of Malta Enterprise, and ITC’s Executive Director J. Denis Bélisle presented awards to representatives from the Republic of Korea, Colombia, Jamaica and Australia at the World TPO Conference in Malta in October 2004.

A spotlight on trade promotion organizations

ITC launches 'best practice' awards for trade promotion organizations.

Iraquian particpants learning Trade and Market Intelligence Tools

Market intelligence for everyone

ITC's online Market Analysis Tools become free for users in developing countries.

Value Chain Transparency: understanding the Chinese market and promoting African Cotton. Field visit: African cotton suppliers visiting a Chinese company to better understand Chinese requirements for African cotton.

ITC beats delivery record

ITC reaches its highest annual expenditure to date, with $87 million.

ITC Executive Director Arancha González and Amina C. Mohamed, Cabinet Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Kenya, launch the SheTrades app, Nairobi

Important steps for the years ahead

ITC aligns its programmes to the newly adopted UN Sustainable Development Goals; introduces its Innovation Lab; publishes its first flagship report, the SME Competitiveness Outlook; and launched its SheTrades Initiative on trade and women's economic empowerment.

70% of total employment comes from MSMEs - MSME Day - Small business, big impact

The first MSME Day

The United Nations formally recognizes the importance of small businesses and ITC’s role in supporting them, designating ITC as the agency responsible for the first international Micro, Small, and Medium-Sized Enterprises (MSME) Day. The now-annual UN event shines a regular spotlight on the importance of promoting dynamic small business sectors.

A year of unprecedented events

In the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, ITC was among the first multilateral institutions to produce data on the pandemic’s impact on small businesses. The current Executive Director, Pamela Coke-Hamilton, takes on ITC leadership. And ITC's Market Analysis Tools reach 1 million users.

Four moonshots

ITC launches four “moonshots” to ensure that the organization continues to set a global agenda linking small business trade to digital connectivity, gender, green and youth.

COP28

ITC joins forces with the World Trade Organization, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, and the International Chamber of Commerce for the first-ever 'Trade House' at a UN climate conference.