Enlightened Engagement

 I recently got an email newsletter from importers.com with the following interesting information:

The world is trading more now than ever before!

- World trade now represents 47% of the World’s GDP, compared to just 10% in 1970
- International merchandise exports reached USD $11.7 Trillion in 2006, up 18% (USD $1.8 trillion) compared to 2005

Small & medium sized enterprises (SMEs) fuel world economies

- More than 95% of businesses in most countries are small (<100 employees)
- In most countries, more than half of all employees work in small businesses
- In many countries more than half of gross domestic product comes from small businesses
- In 2006, about $24 trillion of goods were produced by SMEs
- SMEs account for 25%-35% of internationally traded goods

The Internet is driving international trade

- With 1.2 billion users, 18.9% of the world’s population is now online
- The USA has the most Internet users (210 million), followed by China (162 million)
- According to research by Forrester, 80% of B2B buyers now search online before they purchase
- Over 80% of B2B buyers say that more than 50% of their suppliers are met online

Online fraud remains a worldwide threat

- According to Pricewaterhouse Coopers, one out of every 2 businesses has suffered economic crime in the past 2 years
- BuySafe.com reports that 76% of online buyers worry they will not get what they paid for and 72% say the trust problem is getting worse
- At Fraud.org, where Internet users complain about online fraud, 34% of all complaints were for “goods not delivered” and 33% were for “goods not delivered as promised”
- Surveys of B2B website users state that trust is the #1 sourcing challenge
- At most B2B websites, more than 90% of member companies are NOT verified

Internet or online trade is good but beware of the fraud as well.

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European Trade Promotion Organization

• Austria: Austriantrade 
• WKO.at: target audience Austrian users. Website of the
  Austrian Federal Economic Chamber.
• austriantrade.org: target audience Foreign users. Websites
  of Trade Comissions.
• products.austriantrade.org: target audience Foreign users.
  Directory of Austrian Companies.
• Belgium: 
  Belgian Foreign Trade Agency  mail
  Brussels Export  mail
  Flanders Investment & Trade  mail
  Walloon Export and Foreign Investment Agency (AWEX) 
• Cyprus CCCI - Cyprus Chamber of Commerce and Industry
• Cyprus, Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Tourism mail
• Czech Republic CT - Czech Trade Promotion Agency /
  Czech Trade
• Czech Republic MIT - Ministry of Industry and Trade
• Denmark DI - Confederation of Danish Industries
• Denmark Danish Trade Council, Royal Danish Ministry
  of Foreign Affairs

• Estonia Enterprise Estonia
• Finland Finpro
• France UBIFRANCE
• Germany bfai - German Office for Foreign Trade
• Greece HEPO - Hellenic Foreign Trade Board S.A.
• Hungary ITDH - Hungarian Investment and Trade
  Development Agency
• Iceland TCI - Trade Council of Iceland
• Ireland Enterprise Ireland
• Italy ICE - Italian Institute for Foreign Trade
• Latvia LAA - Latvian Development Agency
• Lithuania LEPA - Lithuanian Development Agency
• Malta METCO - Malta External Trade Corporation
• Netherlands EVD - Netherlands Foreign Trade Agency
• Norway NTC - Norwegian Trade Council
• Poland Ministry of Economy
  http://www.mg.gov.pl/
  http://www.polishproducts.gov.pl/
• Portugal: ICEP - Icep Portugal
  http://www.icep.pt/ Target audience - Portuguese users.
  http://www.portugalinbusiness.com/ Target audience English
  speaking users.
• Slovak Republik FTSF - Foreign Trade Support Fund
  Slovak Republik Ministry of Economy
• Slovenia TIPO - Ministry of the Economy
• Spain: ICEX - Spanish Institute for Foreign Trade
  icex.es: target audience Spanish users.
  spainbusiness.com: target audience non-spanish users.
• Sweden STC - Swedish Trade Council
• Switzerland Osec Business Network Switzerland
  
• Turkey IGEME - Export Promotion Center of Turkey
  
• United Kingdom UK Trade & Investment
  http://www.uktradeinvest.gov.uk/: UK Trade and Investment’s
  website, launched in Sept 2004, uses portal technology
  to provide customers and staff with a single web gateway
   to personalised information (mainly “trade” content at
  present), e.g. country and sector content, worldwide
  business opportunities, etc.

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Selected Asian Trade Development Organizations

Australia
Austrade (Australian Trade Commission)

Bangladesh
EPB (Export Promotion Bureau)

Brunei
MIPR (Ministry of Industry & Primary Resources)

China
CCPIT (China Council for the Promotion of International Trade)

Chinese Taipei
TWTC (Taipei World Trade Center)

Hong Kong
HKTDC (Hong Kong Trade Development Council)

India
ITPO (India Trade Promotion Organization)

Indonesia
NAFED (National Agency for Export Development)

Japan
JETRO (Japan External Trade Organization)

Korea
KOTRA (Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency)

Macao
IPIM (Macao Trade and Investment Promotion Institute)

Malaysia
MATRADE (Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation)

Mongolia
MNCCI (Mongolian National Chamber of Commerce and Industry)

Nepal
FNCCI (Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce & Industry)

New Zealand
NZTE (New Zealand Trade and Enterprise)

Pakistan
EPB (Export Promotion Bureau)

Philippines
CITEM (Center for International Trade Expositions and Missions)

Singapore
IE Singapore (International Enterprise Singapore)

Sri Lanka
SLEDB (Sri Lanka Export Development Board)

Thailand
DEP (Department of Export Promotion)

Vietnam
VIETRADE (Vietnam Trade Promotion Agency)

 

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Surface area (‘000 km2): 144
Population (million), 2005: 141.8
Population growth rate (%), 2000-2005: 1.9
Official language: Bangla
Currency: Taka
GNI per capita ($), 2004: 440
Percentage shares in GDP, 2003:
Agriculture 21.8
Industry (including manufacturing) 26.3 (15.8)
Services 52.0
Gross capital formation 23.4
Gross domestic savings 17.6
Exports of goods and services 14.2
Imports of goods and services 20.0
Agricultural labour force
(% of total labour force), 2004: 52
Life expectancy at birth (m/f), 2003: 63/63
HIV prevalence among adults (%), end-2003: ..
Under-5 mortality rate, 2003:
(per 1,000 live births) 69
Population undernourished (%), 2000-2002: 30
Population using improved drinking water sources
(%, urban/rural), 2002: 82/72
Adult literacy rate (%, m/f), 2000: 49/30
Transport:
Road density (km/1,000 km2), 1999: 1,594
Rail density (km/1,000 km2), 2002: 21.4
Aircraft departures, 2003: 7,200
Population with access to electricity (%), 2000: 25
Telephone mainlines (per 1,000 people), 2003: 5
Number of tourist arrivals, 2002: 207,000
Exports of goods and services ($ m), 2003: 7,378.9
Imports of goods and services ($ m), 2003: 10,401.1
Main export sector
(% of total exports of goods and services), 2003:
Garments 65.8
Main markets for exports of goods (%), 2004:
Industrial countries 78.0
Main destination: United States 22.4
Main sources of imports of goods (%), 2004:
Developing countries 69.5
Main origin: Asia (India) 55.5 (15.1)
Foreign direct investment net inflows ($ m), 2004: 460.4
ODA net inflows ($ m), 2004: 1,404.1
Remittances from workers abroad ($ m), 2003: 3,191.0
External debt ($ m), 2003: 18,778.5
As % of GNI 34.3
Debt service as % of exports 9.1

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What are the Least Developed Countries?

Since 1971, the United Nations has denominated “Least Developed Countries” (LDCs) a category of lowincome States that are deemed structurally disadvantaged in their development process, and facing more than other countries the risk of failing to come out of poverty. As such, LDCs are considered in need of the highest
degree of attention on the part of the international community.
At the time of the 2003 review of the list of LDCs by the UN, the following three criteria were used:
• low income, based on a three-year average estimate of the gross national income per capita (under $750 for cases of addition to the list, above $900 for cases of graduation);
• weak human assets, in the light of a composite Human Assets Index (HAI) based on indicators of: (a) nutrition; (b) health; (c) school enrolment; and (d) adult literacy;
• economic vulnerability, in the light of a composite Economic Vulnerability Index (EVI) based on indicators of: (a) instability of agricultural production; (b) instability of exports of goods and services; (c) diversification from traditional economic activities; (d) merchandise export concentration; and (e) economic smallness.

A country qualified to be added to the list of LDCs if it met the above three criteria and did not have a population over 75 million.

An LDC was considered as qualifying for graduation from LDC status if it met
graduation thresholds under at least two of the three criteria in at least two consecutive reviews of the list.
Recognition by the UN of the particular problems faced by the LDCs brought the development partners of these countries, including UN agencies and programmes, to adopt a range of special international support measures in their favour, essentially to support the development of their physical infrastructure and human resources; reduce their competitive disadvantage in the global economy; and enhance their institutional capacities.
Accordingly, there is LDC-specific treatment in the multilateral trading system (notably, through market access preferences); in the field of development financing; and in the area of technical assistance.

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