In 2011, there were more than 180,000 registered users of ITC’s suite of integrated market analysis tools such as Trade Map, Market Access Map, Investment Map and Standards Map. The organization also produced regular Market News reports presenting price information and trends for nine sectors. These were circulated by email, direct mail and online to 450 TSIs, more than 45,500 users through 22 TSIs acting as multipliers, and 150 women’s trade-related associations. ITC’s work in centralizing information on private and voluntary standards through Standards Map has become increasingly important in assisting businesses and organizations to make informed trade decisions. In 2011, the Standards Database centralized information on 70 private standards, covering 60 product groups, and is being applied in over 180 countries worldwide.

Intelligence on legal aspects affecting business and trade is highly valued by many SMEs. In 2011, ITC developed model contracts and negotiating tools as global public goods to assist SMEs in doing business. The model contracts were translated into Arabic, French, Portuguese and Spanish, and training has been provided. Policymakers have easy access to a centralized database of treaties, international conventions and instruments to facilitate multilateral trade engagements through the updated LegaCarta tool.

Trade intelligence is also an intrinsic ingredient of effective private-sector participation in policymaking. In 2011, ITC upgraded five information modules to form the core chapters of the National Trade Policy for Export Success guide. The Public-Private Collaboration for Export Success publication was finalized and translated into French and Spanish. The best illustration of the business implications of policy are case studies, and a number of case studies were produced during the year in support of the public-private dialogue platforms implemented jointly by ITC and national and regional partners. Fifty-four issues of the Trade Policy Business Briefing were produced and distributed to 4,000 recipients.

Building capacity to use trade intelligence    

ITC’s global public goods go beyond the dissemination of information. The organization also works to ensure that the use of intelligence is optimized through regular, tailor-made capacity building for policymakers, TSIs and SMEs. In 2011, ITC’s integrated capacity-building programmes enabled participants to make more informed business and policy decisions based on market analysis, and to train other TSIs and SMEs to get the most value from trade intelligence. For example, since receiving training on ITC’s market analysis tools, Serbia’s Chamber of Commerce and Industry has expanded its portfolio of services to SMEs through the design and delivery of tailor-made programmes on online market research. Staff of the Department of Agriculture in South Africa has developed five in-depth research reports on export opportunities for South African agricultural products, following an intensive training programme on market analysis. The department has improved its services to South African exporters of agricultural goods by providing this intelligence to its client base, who are able to make more informed exporting decisions. Representatives of the Georgian Employers Association are engaged in more informed export development initiatives following participation in an intensive workshop on ITC’s market analysis tools and other trade information sources.

Through ITC’s Trade for Sustainable Development (T4SD) programme (funded by Window I of the ITF), around 500 participants took part in capacitybuilding workshops on voluntary standards and Standards Map. These workshops not only built awareness of the impact of standards, they enabled participants to use ITC’s tools to enable more informed decision-making. In Mozambique, ITC assisted IPEX, the national trade promotion organization, in developing its trade information service and improving its website. In Uruguay, in partnership with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade and its network of Foreign Trade Representatives, ITC provided support and training on information research skills and on developing new services to exporters. During the year, ITC also provided training to WTO Reference Centres in Lao PDR, Ethiopia and Samoa. Regular capacity building for privatesector organizations and policymakers to participate effectively in trade policy took place in 2011. Partner TSIs that are now better able to engage in the trade policy process from a business perspective include: the Viet Nam Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Philippines Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry. The policymakers participating in the WTO’s Regional Trade Policy courses considered the training module on the business opportunities stemming from the multilateral trading system as most relevant (as indicated by systematic evaluations carried out by the WTO).

Beyond intelligence tools    

ITC has become the lead agency in identifying and understanding non-tariff obstacles to trade from the private-sector perspective. The organization’s NTM programme, funded by the United Kingdom and launched in 2010, resulted in the completion of business sector surveys in 13 countries (Burkina Faso, Egypt, Hong Kong SAR, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Morocco, Paraguay, Peru, Rwanda, Sri Lanka, Uruguay) by the end of 2011. Surveys are close to completion in three more countries (Jamaica, Senegal, and Trinidad and Tobago). The NTM surveys and reports provide a neutral, external perspective to identify areas in need of improvement in a country’s internal business environment, as well as obstacles faced in foreign markets. Capacity building for local survey specialists on the NTM classification and survey method is an important component of this project. The data from these surveys will soon be made available through ITC’s trade intelligence tools.

In Tunisia, ITC established, in cooperation with local stakeholders a trade intelligence network and trained partners on trade intelligence. Capacity building and training was provided to the Trade Information Centre at the Ministry of Foreign Trade in the Sudan.

In the business environment  

The findings of the NTM surveys and reports will increasingly be used by development partners and ITC to achieve positive outcomes. The first NTM report on Sri Lanka was released to the public during the Eighth WTO Ministerial Conference in December 2011. The Sri Lankan Government has requested details on each area where action is required in order to improve the efficiency of its institutions. Thus, the results of the NTM report provide a roadmap for Sri Lanka to improve its business environment. The report findings will also be used in the country’s negotiations with trading partners to try to reduce the NTMs its businesses face. At the end of 2011, NTM reports for Burkina Faso, Morocco and Peru were close to finalization. The NTM work in Burkina Faso has already led to outcomes in the area of SPS certification. See the related case story in this section.

Through large programmes    

Improved access to intelligence and awareness-building activities are key building blocks in most of ITC’s large programmes. Through the Canadianfunded Programme for building African Capacity for Trade II (PACT II), ITC has worked with partners in the three focus regions to use trade intelligence as a tool for diversifying and expanding African exports. Through intensive training, seven members of the ECOWAS Trade Experts Network have become trainers in ITC’s market analysis tools and methods to analyye export potential in key markets. As a result, the experts developed and published five region-wide studies on the export potential of specific products. These experts have also been enabled to produce market news bulletins on the ECOWAS priority sectors. In COMESA, partner organizations have run their own training in ITC’s market analysis tools and export potential, assisting participants to develop reports for their respective countries. COMESA’s Leather and Leather Products Institute has been strengthened to provide market information to its client base. Through PACT II, the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS) secretariat has worked with ITC to improve the quality of national trade data, to build the capacity of countries to produce more reliable data and to analyze the data provided in order to make better informed policy and business decisions. By the end of 2011, as a result of this successful partnership, ECCAS finalized a report on intraregional trade potential based on the inputs prepared by national participants, using the improved data. With the ECCAS secretariat, ITC also developed a national trade information network, RERINFOCOM, supported by a regional web-based platform. 

The Enhancing Arab Capacity for Trade (EnACT) programme has also used trade intelligence to work towards real outcomes. Through EnACT Jordan, a national trade observatory was established in 2011, with trained local experts providing technical and advisory assistance to the Ministry of Industry and Trade. The observatory functions as a market intelligence unit, providing advice on foreign trade issues to the ministry and other stakeholders. The observatory also provides advisory services to decision makers on foreign trade strategies, export promotion plans and in negotiating future trade agreements. Similar national trade observatories are being established in Morocco and Tunisia under the EnACT programme.

In Tunisia, a national trade intelligence network, RIAVEC, was initiated by ITC under a Swiss-funded programme with the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO), bringing together key TSIs to improve the relevance, timeliness and accessibility of trade intelligence for the local business community. Through the Netherlands Trust Fund II Programme (NTF II), a trade intelligence unit on mango is being established in Senegal to help the sector improve its knowledge of market requirements and strengthen its position in non-traditional and value-added market segments. In Kenya, international market analysis and trade intelligence enabled stakeholders in the tree-fruit sector to gain a better understanding of market trends, the strategic approach of competitors and their comparative advantage. This will be used to develop a five-year sector development plan to boost Kenyan tree-fruit exports.

Access to intelligence is often necessary for sector development activities to deepen results. Under Window II funding from the European Union (EU), ITC engaged with the Forum of Caribbean States (CARIFORUM) to strengthen creative industries in the region. This led to the realization that, in order to further develop creative industries for export, there is a need to improve data collection and analysis that can assist enterprises, TSIs and policymakers to make informed decisions. As a result of ITC’s awareness-raising efforts, the region’s Council of Trade and Economic Development Ministers endorsed a recommendation to improve market analysis on creative industries in the region.

Beyond pure trade issues    

Access to trade intelligence enables better policy decisions. As a result of an ITC study on the tariff and non-tariff measures applied by malaria-endemic countries to imports of anti-malarial products, Cameroon, Ghana, Madagascar and Zimbabwe have committed to eliminating tariffs applied to these products. This will enable more affordable treatment for sufferers, as well as prevention of malaria in these countries.

Linking events to outcomes 

With several NTMs associated with the environment and climate change, awareness building is an important part of ITC’s Trade, Climate Change and Environment programme (TCCEP). Funded by Window I of the ITF, the programme produced a how-to guide on carbon footprinting for SMEs and is engaged in raising trade and environmental issues in the media. A special study on trade in endangered species has been produced in partnership with the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) for use by government authorities and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in Southeast Asia. The programme is also charged with raising environmental awareness within ITC to make all projects and programmes “greener”. An Emissions Reduction Strategy was produced and a staff Green Guide has also been finalized.

A key component of ITC’s Women and Trade programme is building awareness of gender issues in trade and mainstreaming gender into TRTA work, including the work of ITC. In 2011, ITC worked closely with the EIF and the WTO, resulting in gender mainstreaming of seven Diagnostic Trade Integration Study (DTIS) updates as well as the WTO workplan on Aid for Trade in Rwanda. The programme also conducted research in conjunction with the International Federation of Business and Professional Women (BPW) to develop a deeper understanding of the gender make-up of key sectors in partner countries, in order to maximize impact of activities on women.

ITC’s Global Platform for Action on Sourcing from Women Vendors is actively involved in highlighting the extremely low level of procurement from women-owned companies — by corporations and governments — and is committed to raising the level of corporate spending on women from 1% to 7% among its members. See the related case study in this section. Over 330 articles mentioning ITC were published in English, French and Spanish, online and in print, around the world, amplifying awareness of ITC engagements. Geographically, the highest proportion of coverage was reported in Africa, due to the breadth of ITC programmes there, such as EnACT and PACT II. Traffic to ITC’s website, www.intracen.org increased by 30% to over 50,000 unique users per month following the launch of the new site in March.