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ITC Trade and Market IntelligenceNEWSLETTER |
| Enhancing the transparency of global trade and market access |
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| For all latest news, follow us here. |
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ITC's monthly trade briefs: August issue highlights tourism during Covid-19 |
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New edition of the
World Tariff Profiles 2021 |
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African Trade Observatory: Monitor module presented at African Integration Forum |
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Embedded Market Analysis Tools: Mauritius and Zimbabwe gaining an edge |
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Non-Tariff Measures programme:
New reports on Uganda, Oman and Sudan |
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Global Trade Helpdesk: New engagement from ICC National Chambers and BSOs |
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Euromed Trade Helpdesk: 7th National Focal Point meeting |
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Eastern Partnership Trade Helpdesk:
Upcoming activities |
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Trade for Sustainable Development Forum: Happening now |
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Capacity Building: Sign up for the SME Trade Academy |
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| MONTHLY BRIEFS ON GLOBAL STATE OF TRADE |
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August issue highlights tourism during Covid-19 |
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| In addition to exploring variations in global exports and market access conditions across countries, regions, and sectors, the August issue of the Trade Briefs analyzed travel restrictions and travel exports during Covid-19, using data from Trade Map and the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO). Travel and tourism are key industries in many developing countries, with international tourist arrivals constituting a major source of export revenues. International tourism receipts declined by over 70% in 2020 compared to 2019, bringing them back to levels of 30 years ago. By May 2020, 75% of destinations worldwide had closed their borders as a result of pandemic-related travel bans. Countries that are highly dependent on travel exports imposed less restrictive measures in Summer 2021 than in Summer 2020, while those with weak health and hygiene standards or lower levels of environmental sustainability have tended to keep their borders closed. The September issue of the Trade Briefs will explore the pandemic’s effect on inward flows of foreign direct investment (FDI) in several Latin American countries. |
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| WORLD TARIFF PROFILES 2021 |
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| Jointly published by ITC, WTO and UNCTAD since 2007, this annual report presents tariff-based market access conditions for goods applied by 164 WTO member states and other countries.
The report aggregates product-level statistics; tariffs imposed and faced by each economy; and an overview of trade remedies. ITC’s Market Access Map database is the main source of applied tariff data in the report. The special topic of 2021 explores the use of non-tariff measures (NTMs) in international trade through the lens of three conventional indicators (frequency, coverage and prevalence) based on the global inter-agency dataset of NTMs. The report finds that on average each imported product has to comply with at least 3 NTMs. Animal, vegetable and food sectors are particularly highly regulated. |
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| The report can be accessed online free of charge in English, Spanish and French. Watch the video to learn the highlights of 2021 edition. |
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| AFRICAN TRADE OBSERVATORY |
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Monitor module presented at African Integration Forum commemoration
with AUC and EU
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| The ATO dashboard is now available in Arabic and Portuguese in addition to English and French, and brings forth a new analytical module designed to help inform policymaker decisions. The newest module of the African Trade Observatory, dedicated to helping policymakers track trade dynamics and regional integration, was presented to AU Members at the African Integration Day and Forum celebration on July 8th. The newly released Monitor module grants authorised policymakers access to detailed and timely information regarding trade performance, trade opportunities, level of processing of traded products, and the utilization of trade agreements. AUC Commissioner Albert Muchanga applauded the new Monitor module noting that ´it will provide African policymakers with strategic insights on the sophistication of their exports, to what extent their exporters are benefitting from preferential market access as well as forecasts of trade potential in key sectors´. |
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| The ATO is sparking growing engagement and interest across the continent. More than 20 countries are currently actively engaged in the project, with some economies benefitting from the real-time trade data and new indicators thanks to the installation of the automatic transfer data system. Workshops, National ATO Focal point meetings, and dedicated presentations have met with growing enthusiasm and interest in Ghana, Liberia, Sao Tome & Principe and Togo. The project is also embarking on a second phase of the project with opportunities for extending coverage to services sectors, as well as tracking obstacles to trade in these sectors. |
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| To learn more about how this official AfCFTA operational instrument can help African businesses leverage emerging opportunities, join the upcoming virtual WTO Public Forum session on Building Resilience through AfCFTA Implementation taking place on September 29th at 13:30-14:30 CET. |
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| EMBEDDED MARKET ANALYSIS TOOLS |
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Mauritius and Zimbabwe gaining an edge on trade intelligence
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| Within the framework of United Kingdom Trade Partnership UKTP Programme, a number of export promotion agencies are - gaining an edge on trade intelligence. Nowadays, it has become possible for ITC to embed some flagship tools into the websites of national and regional organisations pursuing SME’s trade development around the world. How does this impact the beneficiary institution and its website? Advantages are countless, but above all: The possibility of having a user-interface and by-default visualization customized to a specific-country or region, and especially, the permanent and automatic reliance on trusted data directly originating from ITC’s data bases, for which information will always be as updated and reliable as can be. So far, UKTP has made it possible to embed TradeMap and MacMap into Mauritius Trade Easy portal and Trade Map into ZimTrade’s website. A pipeline of similar activities is foreseen for the next months to enhance the visibility and reachability of trade data in other UKTP beneficiary countries. |
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| NON-TARIFF MEASURES PROGRAMME |
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Innovative partnerships to expand knowledge on market access in Viet Nam
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| Classes on ITC Market Analysis tools, such as Mac Map, Rules of Origin Facilitator and the ePing platform, are now part of the regular curriculum of international trade courses at the Foreign Trade University (FTU) and the Ho Chi Minh City Open University in Viet Nam. ITC teamed up with Vietnamese academia to expand the local students’ knowledge on market access and non-tariff measures (NTMs). At the FTU, students of the International Trade Policy will attend practical sessions with ITC Market Analysis tools suite. The objective is to offer a hands-on approach on strategies to identify the main market access information that traders need in their daily operations. Moreover, once per semester, an ITC guest speaker will conduct an International Trade Policy class. The lecturers of the Department of International Trade at the Foreign Trade University unanimously agreed that this close interaction between the students and “high-quality ITC lecturers” can make this learning experience, scheduled until 2023, a success. Aiming to reach a larger number of students in the future, the development of an ITC tools guidebook in Vietnamese is under consideration. This publication would apply to all classes (both in English and Vietnamese). Another fruitful alliance is also settled between ITC and the Ho Chi Minh City Open University. NTMs and Market Access are now part of the programme for students in the classes of International Business, Foreign Trade Technical, Import-Export Management, Export-Import Strategy, and Global Business Strategy. Local ITC certified trainers conduct all these capacity building activities with the bi-annual participation of an ITC guest lecturer. A series of workshops on “Market Access and Non-tariff measures - key concepts and information tools” organized by the Open University, with the support from ITC, took place from the on 16th to the 30th of July. The sessions gathered 123 participants (117 in Vietnamese language and 6 in English) in Ho Chi Minh City. |
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| Aiming to reach a larger number of students in the future, the development of an ITC tools guidebook in Vietnamese is under consideration. This publication would apply to all classes (both in English and Vietnamese). Another fruitful alliance is also settled between ITC and the Ho Chi Minh City Open University. NTMs and Market Access are now part of the programme for students in the classes of International Business, Foreign Trade Technical, Import-Export Management, Export-Import Strategy, and Global Business Strategy. Local ITC certified trainers conduct all these capacity building activities with the bi-annual participation of an ITC guest lecturer. A series of workshops on “Market Access and Non-tariff measures - key concepts and information tools” organized by the Open University, with the support from ITC, took place from the on 16th to the 30th of July. The sessions gathered 123 participants (117 in Vietnamese language and 6 in English) in Ho Chi Minh City. For more information, visit the Viet Nam country page. |
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| Traders in Niger define over 25 concrete actions to tackle obstacles
in the transport sector |
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| The export potential of the transport services in Niger is estimated at $146 million (value projected for the year 2024, according to ITC Export Potential Map). To achieve such goal, participants from the Niger public and private institutions, ITC, UNCTAD and the International Road Transport Union (IRU) gathered on the 23rd of June in Niamey to establish a roadmap to overcome the hurdles in the sector. |
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| At the sessions, the 56 attendees established 26 new concrete actions to address the current issues in addition to the 6 concrete actions defined previously during the workshops of June 30 and July 8, 2020. Identifying the appropriate financing mechanisms for the development of the sector and formalizing its workers are some pressing challenges highlighted at the discussions. |
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| Mr. Attaoulahi Zakaouanou, Secretary General of the Ministry of Transport of the Republic of Niger and Mr. Mondher Mimouni from ITC opened the event. For more information, visit the Niger country page and watch the video of the session here. |
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| Business survey unveils the challenges faced by women-led companies in Uganda |
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| A recently published survey on women-led companies in Uganda unveils that the lack of use of trade preferences, difficulties accessing to finance and lack of information in key topics such as internal taxation, market size and market prices are the top challenges for female entrepreneurs. The survey, implemented with support of the ITC She trades initiative, also revealed a low participation in public procurement processes of women-led companies, particularly for companies trading goods. Even when women-led companies participate in public tenders, they encounter difficulties limiting their chances of succeeding in these processes. |
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| Improve transparency, embrace online procurement, and provide more opportunities for small companies are needed from women entrepreneurs in Uganda to enable women’s participation in business. |
| New ITC report: Easing trade procedures is key to overcome trade hurdles
in Oman and Sudan |
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| Trade-related regulations and procedures are a heavy burden for companies in Oman and Sudan. The business survey on Non-Tariff Measures in Oman reveals that around half of exporters face difficulties complying with trade-related regulations or procedures. Removing information barriers for accessing to preferential markets is key to improve the companies’ experience with Non-Tariff Measures, highlights the report. In Sudan, ITC’s business survey found that most exporters find it hard to comply with trade-related regulations or procedures in their country and abroad. Lack of transparent and timely trade-related information is a critical hurdle for Sudanese traders. The report recommends streamlining trade procedures, upgrading domestic infrastructure, and adopting digitally oriented solutions such as a trade information portal. |
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| New engagement from ICC National Chambers and BSOs |
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| The Global Trade Helpdesk continues to work with Chambers of Commerce and Business Support Organizations to help SMEs around the globe adapt their business strategies and take advantage of emerging trade opportunities. In follow up to growing interest on the part of Argentinian firms after several successful webinar events, ICC Argentina has pledged its support to serve as an ambassador of the Global Trade Helpdesk in the country, and to help engage in the promotion and dissemination of the digital tool. |
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| Targeted webinars and training activities also took place with PromPeru as well as ABIMAQ in Brazil, focusing on the machinery sector. To serve the growing demand for virtual training activities, the Global Trade Helpdesk team will soon be launching open quarterly webinars in English, French and Spanish to better meet the needs of diverse firms beyond those work closely with specific business support organizations. More details coming soon on the helpdesk. |
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| EUROMED TRADE HELPDESK PROGRAMME |
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| Mid-September, 23 official representatives from both Ministries of Trade and Business Support Organisations in south Euromed countries took part in the 7th National Focal Points meeting on Trade and Investment Facilitation Mechanism TIFM. The event, organised by ITC, was an opportunity to share experiences, best practices and ideas about matters related to TIFM II implementation. The successes from TIFM I which can be duplicated in phase 2 were discussed, as well as public-private sector partnerships in implementing projects to leverage complementarities between policymakers and economic operators. |
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| Other topics involved facilitating the enquiries management to strengthen services provided by Euromed Trade Helpdesk and a communication strategy to ensure the helpdesk can be utilized for economic recovery. ITC also presented the detailed methodology of work on Trade in Services Statistics data collection and compilation and on the Business Surveys in the identification of both trade obstacles and ways to reduce them. In addition, ITC took stock of TIFM II’s first year of implementation and showed the new mock-up of the helpdesk. |
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| EASTERN PARTNERSHIP TRADE HELPDESK |
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| The EaP Trade Helpdesk is an EU4Business initiative which aims at enhancing trade in the region between Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine, and with the European Union. In this objective, the project team has been developing a regional web portal gathering relevant information for businesses to identify trade opportunities, comply with market requirements and connect with relevant partners, which will be rolled out at the end of the year. Stay tuned on the release of this innovative platform! |
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| Among other activities to come:
- Business surveys on non-tariff measures is scheduled to be implemented in late 2021 as a part of the EaP project. The surveys covering exporters of goods and services will aim to document the experiences of traders with NTMs to have a holistic understanding of existing trader barriers in the region;
- Preparatory work is ongoing for the documentation of trade procedures for several products in each of the EaP countries;
- ITC has delivered the first training on trade in services data management in Georgia on bilateral transport sector data. This innovative training aims to improve trade in services data in all EaP countries;
- Capacity building program that is tailored specifically to the needs of EaP Trade Help Desk platform is currently being developed.
Overall, the project activities in the region is being received positively by the stakeholders. ITC has participated regularly in various regional and national events presenting the activities of the project and informing people on the benefits of the more transparent and timely trade information for SMEs. |
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| Sustainable Development Forum 2021 |
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| After last year’s Good Trade Summit, which gathered over 1200 participants from 140 countries, the T4SD Forum is back! In its 7th edition, which took place on 27 and 28 September, the event convened a wide range of stakeholders from the trade and development community to discuss the status of the sustainability agenda post-COVID, and the role of sustainability standards in building forward better. |
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| Over the two days, attendees heard inspirational remarks on the future of sustainable trade from the distinguished line-up of speakers, including Pamela Coke-Hamilton, Executive Director, ITC; H.E. Andrés Valenciano, Minister of Foreign Trade, Costa Rica; Petina Gappah, Principal Legal Advisor, Office of the Secretary-General, AfCFTA; Pierre Thiam, Chef, Teranga Restaurant & Social entrepreneur, Yolélé Foods; and Henry Puna, Secretary General, Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat, Fiji; amongst many others. Organized by the International Trade Centre (ITC), the T4SD Forum again took place in conjunction with the WTO Public Forum 2021. |
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| Workshop on export potential and trade policy analysis in Lao PDR |
| We organized a workshop on export potential and trade policy analysis between July 12 and August 27, as part of the Arise Plus Lao PDR project. The focus of the training was particularly relevant for Lao PDR, that is preparing for a smooth transition out of the LDC category in 2026. The workshop was held in a hybrid format, with fourteen participants and a facilitator gathered in Vientiane, Lao PDR and trainers based in Geneva. Participants from trade policy, trade promotion and research institutions of Lao PDR explored the drivers of ITC’s export potential and were introduced to ITC’s partial equilibrium approach to trade policy modelling (for an application to Lao PDR, please read the report). In addition to attending theoretical sessions, participants worked in groups on applied computational exercises and presented a trade profile analysis of a specific sector of Lao PDR’s exports at the end of the workshop. For more information on the project, please consult the project page. |
| Trade intelligence trainings in Kenya |
| In August, ITC organised a series of two pro bono webinars on building strong SMEs in Kenya through trade and market intelligence, in collaboration with the Kenya Export Promotion and Branding Agency (KEPROBA). The initiative had the objective to contribute to the creation of business opportunities and targeted policy design in the country, by teaching 41 participants how to navigate Trade Map and Market Access Map. |
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| Introduction webinars to the Central Asia Trade Intelligence (CATI) portal |
| In July, the CATI portal was showcased to participants from Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan. ITC and UNDP worked together to spread the word on the portal. Participants learned how to identify export opportunities by introducing them to the portal and increasing their understanding of ITC’s Trade and Market Intelligence Tools. By the end of a webinar, the audience was able to navigate the CATI portal to screen possible markets for exports, and to identify new export opportunities for their products. |
| Market Analysis Tools at the Zambia virtual economic diplomacy forum |
| In July, ITC presented the Market Analysis Tools during the Zambia virtual economic diplomacy forum on trade investment and tourism promotion for Zambian missions abroad The presentations were very well received by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Permanent Mission of the Republic of Zambia to the UN. |
| Training to textile and garment sector from Ghana |
| In September, a virtual session on trade intelligence was organised under the framework of the ITC project Textile and Apparel Network for Africa (TANA) in Ghana. Participants ranged from companies in the sector to textiles association and project partners. Tools featured were Trade Map, Market Access Map, Export Potential Map and Standards Map. |
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| SME TRADE ACADEMY Do not miss next quarter's SME Trade Academy sessions on Trade Map and Market Access Map. |
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| Do you wish to obtain a comprehensive set of the 2020 merchandise trade data? In Trade Map, 2020 data are now available for 124 countries, accounting for 95% of global trade in goods. These countries are highlighted in azure blue in the map below. |
| Are you rather interested in freshly published 2021 data? As of mid-September 2021, the July 2021 data were already available for 38 countries, covering half of global trade in goods. Do you seek more? Visit the data availability page on www.trademap.org for more updates. |
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| Market Access Map expanded coverage of 2021 tariffs to 120 markets, including the United States, Japan, China and EU. Check for the latest updates the data availability page. |
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| Hacque adfabilitate confisus cum eadem postridie feceris |
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| International Trade Centre
Palais de Nations
1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland
Telephone: +41 22 730 0111 |
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| Trade and Market Intelligence section
Telephone: +41 22 730 0540
Email: marketanalysis@intracen.org |
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| © 2021 All Rights Reserved |
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