This book has been written with two audiences in
mind. One is the senior public-sector planner responsible for
maximizing the benefits to civil society of participation in
international trade. The other is the industry leader concerned with
ensuring that the national environment effectively supports the
business sector’ s efforts to broaden its involvement in the
international market place.
Our focus is on reviewing approaches to building
and implementing a national export strategy that meets the
objectives of these two audiences – objectives that are fully
consistent but which, in practice, often fail to
converge. Our overall message is that only through direct and
continuous public-private sector consultation can national export
strategies be effectively designed and successfully implemented. What
is needed is a solid partnership between government and business at
the highest level of decision-making.
Granted, there is nothing original in stating the
need for a national export strategy or for dialogue between government
and business. Yet, our experience is that in many countries, and I would say in the majority of developing and transition economies, regular and substantive
dialogue on export issues does not occur. And in instances where it does take place, follow-up at a strategic level is,
more often than not, inadequate. This has become a critical weakness. Given the enormous changes taking place in the world
trading system and the accompanying pressures to become internationally competitive, how can firms in developing and transition
economies be expected to maintain their export markets, let alone
move up the value chain, if a national export strategy is not in
place to support their efforts? The answer is simple. They cannot.
It was against this background that the
International Trade Centre UNCTAD/WTO (ITC) decided to host – in
Annecy, France, from 26 to 29 September 1999 – the Executive Forum
on National Export Strategies, and to focus discussion on the theme
Redefining Trade Promotion – The Need for a Strategic Response. Over three-and-a-half days, senior government officials, business representatives and specialists
from trade promotion organizations, academia and international organizations reviewed various approaches to the development and
management of national export strategies, and debated related issues.
The emphasis was on analysis, experience-sharing and networking.
The principal points reviewed and the conclusions
reached, in what was at times a highly animated debate, are
reflected in this book. I recognize, of course, that there is no
universally applicable model for national strategy development and
management and that each country must tailor its approach to the
national context. I do, however,
hope that at least some of the principles and solutions discussed in
the pages that follow will provide useful guidelines to those who
are, or will be, orchestrating a comprehensive response – a strategic
response – to the current and future challenges of the evolving
international business scene.
This book only scratches the surface. Many of the issues confronting the strategy-management partnership have still to be addressed. It is
our intention to continue to analyze, together with senior public- and private-sector representatives in developing and
transition economies, best practices for national export strategy development and management. Your views and experiences
are crucial to this analysis and I therefore invite you to participate in this ongoing dialogue. This Web site has been set up for this purpose. We hope that you will visit the site regularly and we look
forward to receiving your views and comments.
J. Denis Bélisle
Executive Director
The book is available on-line in Pdf
format by clicking on the chapter headings listed below:
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