The International Trade Centre UNCTAD/WTO (ITC) is the focal point in the United Nations system for technical cooperation with developing countries in trade promotion. ITC was created by the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) in 1964 and since 1968 has been operated jointly by GATT (now by the World Trade Organization) and by the UN, the latter acting through the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).

Main Programme Areas

ITC works with developing countries and economies in transition to set up effective trade promotion programmes for expanding their exports and improving their import operations. This covers six key areas.
n Product and market development-direct export marketing support to the business community through advice on product development, product adaptation and international marketing for commodities, manufactures and services. The aim is to develop and market internationally competitive products and services to expand and diversify these countries' exports.
n Development of trade support services-creation and enhancement of foreign trade support services for the business community provided by public and private institutions at the national and regional levels. The objective is to ensure that enterprises have the facilities to export and import effectively.
n Trade information-establishment of sustainable national trade information services and dissemination of information on products, services, markets and functions to enterprises and trade organizations. The purpose is to lay a foundation for sound international business decisions and for appropriate trade promotion programmes.
n Human resource development-strengthening of national institutional capacities for foreign trade training and organization of direct training for enterprises in importing and exporting. The goal is to achieve efficient foreign trade operations based on relevant knowledge and skills.
n International purchasing and supply management-application of cost-effective import systems and practices in enterprises and public trading entities by strengthening the advisory services provided by national purchasing organizations, both public and private. The aim is to optimize foreign exchange resources expended on imports.
n Needs assessment and programme design for trade promotion-conception of effective national and regional trade promotion programmes based on an analysis of supply potential and constraints, and identification of related technical cooperation requirements. The objective is to reinforce the link between trade policy and the implementation of trade promotion activities.

In all of these services ITC gives particular attention to activities with the least developed countries (LDCs).

Trade Promotion Projects

ITC's technical cooperation projects are carried out in all developing areas at the national, subregional, regional and interregional levels. They are undertaken at the request of governments of the countries concerned. Projects are administered from ITC headquarters in Geneva and are implemented by ITC specialists who work in close liaison with local officials. A project may last from a few weeks to several years, depending on the number and types of activities involved.

National projects often take the form of a broad-based integrated country project, which includes a package of services to expand the country's exports and/or improve its import operations. In some cases national projects cover only one type of activity. Subregional, regional and interregional projects may also deal with either one or a combination of ITC services, depending on the trade promotion and export development requirements of the group of countries concerned.

All of ITC's technical cooperation projects are systematically monitored and evaluated to ensure that the objectives initially agreed to between the government(s) and ITC are being achieved.

Headquarters Services

In addition to specific technical cooperation projects with individual developing countries and economies in transition, or groups of these countries, ITC provides services from its headquarters in Geneva that are available to all such countries. These include publications on trade promotion, export development, international marketing, international purchasing, supply management, and foreign trade training, as well as trade information and trade statistics services of various types.

Coordination with Other Organizations

ITC's technical cooperation work is coordinated with a number of other organizations inside and outside the UN system. ITC maintains close liaison with UNCTAD and WTO for specific technical cooperation activities, in addition to its more formal links with these two organizations for its overall technical cooperation programme. ITC's export market development activities are coordinated, whenever relevant, with the work of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO) and the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO). Close contacts are maintained with UNDP, which provides financing for a portion of ITC's projects with developing countries and economies in transition, and whose resident representatives and resident coordinators serve as ITC's official representatives in their countries of assignment.

ITC also works with other UN organizations, regional development banks, intergovernmental bodies outside the UN system, non-governmental organizations and numerous trade-related institutions. In particular it has developed a close association with import promotion offices that have been set up in various countries to promote exports from developing countries into their respective national markets. ITC is continuously broadening its contacts with foreign trade and business institutions as it extends its network of technical cooperation partners.

Sources of Funding

ITC's regular budget is funded in equal parts by the UN and WTO. It finances general research and development on trade promotion and export development, part of which results in published studies, market information and statistical services. This budget also covers overall administration of the organization.

Financing for ITC's technical cooperation activities in developing countries and economies in transition comes from UNDP, other international organizations and voluntary contributions from individual developed and developing countries. Voluntary contributions consist of either trust funds for projects in other countries or funds-in-trust provided for projects in the donor's own country.

Status and Policy Making

ITC's legal status is that of a "joint subsidiary organ" of WTO and the UN, the latter acting through UNCTAD. The broad policy guidelines for ITC's technical cooperation work are determined by the governing organs of ITC's parent bodies. Recommendations on ITC's future work programme are made to these two organs by ITC's annual intergovernmental meeting, the Joint Advisory Group on the International Trade Centre UNCTAD/WTO (JAG). The JAG also reviews ITC's proposals for its medium-term plan, which provides a general framework for ITC's activities over a six-year period and forms part of the overall UN Medium-Term Plan. Representatives of member states of ITC's parent organizations attend the JAG meeting. In addition to the review by these intergovernmental meetings, ITC's policies and programmes are periodically examined in meetings attended by representatives of its parent organizations and ITC's Executive Director.

Secretariat

J. Denis Bélisle, ITC's Executive Director, is responsible for the management of ITC. Staff at ITC headquarters in Geneva number approximately 200. Several hundred consultants are assigned to ITC projects in developing countries and economies in transition each year.

Liaison Offices

ITC does not have any regional or national field offices. However, each government with which ITC works, in both recipient and developed countries, appoints an official ITC liaison officer within its administration.

Contact Information

International Trade Centre UNCTAD/WTO (ITC), Palais des Nations, CH-1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland, telephone +41-22/730 0111, fax +41-22/733 4439, e-mail <itcreg@intracen.org>,
website (www.intracen.org).