2.2.1 World Trade Resources
2.2.2 Regional Trade Resources
2.2.3 National Trade Resources
2.2.4 Trade Legislation

2.2.1 World Trade Resources

World Trade Organization (WTO) http://www.wto.org/index.htm 
WTO is the only international organization dealing with the rules of trade between nations. At its heart are the WTO agreements, negotiated and signed by the bulk of the world’s trading nations and ratified in their parliaments. The goal is to help producers of goods and services, exporters, and importers conduct their business. 

On the website you will find the main information under “Trade Topics” (including licenses, dispute settlements, Competition policy, trade policy reviews ..etc) and “Documents” (legal texts & official documents). Under “Resources” you will find some free statistic data. You can access directly on the following URL http://www.wto.org/english/res_e/statis_e/statis_e.htm  to:

• The Statistical database contains trade profiles by country as well as time series by countries or regions back to 1980.
  
• The  International Trade Statistics report  provides comprehensive, comparable and up-to-date statistics on trade in merchandise and commercial services by country, region and main product groups or service categories. Tables are presented in pdf and excel format and is available in different languages.

United Nations Conference on Trade Statistics (UNCTAD)- http://www.unctad.org/  
UNCTAD is the focal point within the United Nations for the integrated treatment of trade and development and the interrelated issues in the areas of finance, technology, investment and sustainable development.  UNCTAD undertakes research, policy analysis and data collection in order to provide substantive inputs for the discussions of experts and government representatives. The web section entitled "Digital Library" provides details on themes covered and publications issued.

UNCATD also offers online  free access (after registration) http://www.unctad.org/Templates/Page.asp?intItemID=1888&lang=1  to the following statistic databases:

• The UNCTAD Handbook of Statistics on-line provides a time series of economic data and development indicators, in some cases going back as far as 1950, in order to keep track of trends in world trade, the global economy and development. It is possible to view the latest revised figures as well as the full time series.
  
  
• The UNCTAD-TRAINS on the Internet (TRade Analysis and INformation System) is a comprehensive computerized information system covering trade control measures (tariff, para-tariff and non-tariff measures), as well as import flows by origin for over 130 countries.
  
  
• The Foreign Direct Investment database (FDI) presents inflows, outflows, inward stocks and outward stocks of foreign direct investment for 196 reporting economies in an interactive format. The information is presented in two separate products: a) an interactive database for the aggregate figures and b) an electronic publication with the detailed information by country.

International Trade Centre (ITC) www.intracen.org/   ITC is the technical cooperation agency of UNCTAD and the WTO for operational, enterprise-oriented aspects of trade development. ITC supports developing and transition economies, and particularly their business sector, in their efforts to realize their full potential for developing exports and improving import operations. 

• The Country Market Analysis Profiles or Country Map, is freely available on ITC’s Web site for around 184 countries and territories. Each profile provides a series of tools to facilitate strategic market research, monitor national and sector trade and macro-economic performance and design trade development strategies. w.intracen.org/countries 

2.2.2 Regional Trade Resources

European Union - Directorate General Trade of the European Commission. http://europa.eu.int/comm/trade/  
The DG Trade conducts the European Union’s common trade policy. Among other useful information (such us policies, legislation, etc.) on the web you can find:

• The Information Centre contains worldwide statistic tables, reports, news, policies, etc. Scroll down to find the searching menu. You can search by country, by sector, the language of the document, dates, type of data… or combine the different criteria.  http://trade-info.cec.eu.int/doclib/cfm/doclib_type.cfm?type=9  
  
  
• EU Bilateral trade relations . Information on the trade between European Union and another country or region:  http://europa.eu.int/comm/trade/issues/bilateral/index_en.htm 
  
  
• The Market Access Database: is the most important operational tool of the European Union's Market Access Strategy, supporting a continuous three-way exchange of information between: the EU institutions, Member States and European business. Access to the database is free and it contains information on Sector and Trade Barriers, Applied Tariffs, Exporters’ Guide to Import Facilities, Statistical database (trade flows of all kind of products between EU and other countries), WTO Bound Tariffs and  Studies.http://mkaccdb.eu.int/ 

The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) http://www.nafta-sec-alena.org/ 
NAFTA is a regional agreement between the Government of Canada, the Government of the United Mexican States and the Government of the United States of America to implement a free trade area. The website of the Secretary provides the Legal Texts and Dispute Settlement (including reports and decisions).

Asociación Latinoamericana de Integración (ALADI) http://www.aladi.org/ 
ALADI is an intergovernmental organization that continues the process started in 1960 and promotes the integration expansion in the region, in order to guarantee its economic and social development. Its final goal is the establishment of a Latin-American common market.

In the website you can find interesting information such as agreements, national tariffs and nomenclatures, regulations on Foreign Trade or statistics. The website gives access to “Information System on Foreign Trade”  http://200.40.42.222/sii/menupagsinternasi/marcossiii.htm  which includes data on current tariffs, regulations, and statistics on:
o Foreign trade statistics for national tariff items,
o Total Foreign trade
o Main products of Foreign trade by country

Free Trade of the Americas (FTAA) - http://www.ftaa-alca.org/alca_e.asp 
FTAA is formed by 34 American countries joining efforts to unite the economies of the Americas into a single free trade area. They agreed to complete negotiations towards this agreement by the year 2005. In there website you can the documentation related to this process, negotiations, committees, as well as useful information for businesses. The site offers access a comprehensive trade & tariffs database containing statistical data. http://198.186.239.122/Default.htm 

Mercado Común del Sur (MERCOSUR) - http://www.mercosur.org.uy/ 
Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay are the members who signed the original Treaty although  Bolivia and Chile are also associated members. On the website you will find only general information and policies. No statistical data is provided.

Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC)-http://www.apecsec.org.sg/apec.html 
This is the premier forum for facilitating economic growth, cooperation, trade and investment in the Asia-Pacific region. APEC has 21 members including USA, Japan, China, Mexico, Australia, etc. For a complete list please visit the following link: http://www.apecsec.org.sg/apec/member_economies.html . On the website you will find information on business resources (i.e. advisory council) documents and reports, etc.

Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) - http://www.aseansec.org/home.htm 
ASEAN is formed by 10 countries: Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. The website offers info about the members, economic integration, external relations, policies, statistics, etc.   Trade statistics (imports and exports from early 90th to 2002) are also available between ASEAN (and its members) and counterparts by chapter or section (type of product) and totally by country. http://202.154.12.3/trade/publicview.asp 

2.2.3 National Trade Resources

2.2.3.1 Selection of National Trade Organisms
2.2.3.2 Rest of National Trade Organisms
2.2.3.3 Chambers of Commerce
2.2.3.4 National Statistic Offices

2.2.3.1 Selection of National Trade Organism

• The Instituto de Comercio Exterior (ICEX – Spain) has created a portal where you can find information about foreign markets. nter the portal in order to find Spanish statistics and also some international trade data. http://www.icex.es 
  
• Foreign Trade Division (U.S Census – USA).  Updated data on Foreign trade statistics by various commodity classifications,  Country balances and top trading partners, Commodity and country detail for each State, Historical series, etc.
  http://www.census.gov/foreign-trade/statistics/index.html 
  
• International Trade Administration (USA). Offers monthly foreign trade data between USA and other countries since 2000, information of imported products, etc. http://www.ita.doc.gov/td/industry/otea/index.html 
  
• U.S. Dept. of Commerce - Bureau of Economic Analysis (USA) offers monthly estimates of U.S. International Trade in Goods and Services.
  http://www.bea.doc.gov/bea/di/home/trade.htm 

2.2.3.2 Rest of National Trade Organisms
The ICEX offers a list of foreign promotion organisms by country. Select the continent desired to see the list of institutions and contact details by country. The sources are
http://portal.icex.es/icex/cda/controller/page/0,2956,35582_17442_5257419_0,00.html 

2.2.3.3 Chambers of Commerce
The world’s Chambers of Commerce offer excellent starting points if you want to conduct business in other countries. They can supply international trade advice or give you contact details in the country, region or target town.

- Spain: Camerdata is an online portal offering services and company information.  It features a complete list of Spanish chambers of commerce. http://www.camerdata.es/fr_camaras.html 

- Europe: “Eurochambres”  is the Association of European Chamber of Commerce and Industry. http://www.eurochambres.be/index.shtml  Click on “Our network” to find the Chambers by region. 

- International: Search by region, country, State (USA) or city in the directory of  chambers of the World Chambers Network http://www.worldchambers.com/CCII/index1.htm 

2.2.3.4 National Statistic Offices
In case you are looking for more statistics by country, you might also find trade data visiting the official statistic bureau. You can find them listed alphabetically in the following document: http://www.wto.org/english/res_e/statis_e/natl_e.pdf

2.2.4 Trade Legislation

International Trade Law - http://www.jus.uio.no/lm/index.html 
This site is dedicated to the provision of information on international commercial law with subsidiary interests in commerce. Users may browse to find the information desired.

World Trade Law - http://www.worldtradelaw.net/search/searchreports.htm 
This database highlights GATT/WTO decisions. 

Celex – European Union  trade law. http://europa.eu.int/celex/htm/celex_en.htm 

Go to “Menu Searching” and browse by “classification headings”. You will be able to find trade legislation under “2. Customs Union and free movement of goods” (for internal trade) and under “11.External relations” (for external trade).