Promoting Prosperity for a Better World: International Trade Administration

“The defining purpose of the [International Trade Administration] is helping to create economic opportunities for American workers and businesses. By promoting trade and investment we are promoting prosperity for a better world.”

The International Trade Administration (ITA) works to improve the global business environment and helps U.S. organizations compete at home and abroad. The site itself is really a mass of information, providing information for importers and exporters alike and thus the ultimate resource for international trade.

GOALS:

• Promote U.S. trade and investment: the ITA helps U.S. companies navigate foreign markets, by educating companies about how to tailor their activities to the specific market (financing, marketing, assembly, logistics, etc.)
• Strengthen U.S. industry competitiveness: ITA advances policies and strategies that stimulate innovation and advancement, enhance economic growth, and support the U.S. manufacturing and services industry. They represent U.S. industry’s commercial interests in trade negotiations, bilateral and multilateral discussions, and in policymaking.
• Ensure fair trade: ITA ensures fair trade by working to remove costly barriers to product and service exports through:
  • Market Access and Compliance (MAC): works to liberalize trade (see below).
  • Trade Compliance Center: tracks specific cases whether U.S. firms are experiencing barriers to entry or not receiving the full potential of negotiated agreements.
  • Import Administration: lead unit on enforcing trade laws and agreements (see below).

The ITA website itself is composed of a number of other ITA managed websites, creating a directory according to topic. For example, under the “Services” tab there are a number of topics, Market Research falls under export.gov, whereas “AD (Antidumping)/CVD (Countervailing Duty) Counseling” is categorized under “Import Administration.”

ORGANIZATIONS: FOUR BUSINESS UNITS

• U.S. Commercial Service: promote U.S. exports (especially small and medium sized companies), provides commercial diplomacy support for U.S. business interests around the world.
• Manufacturing and Services: helps shape industry specific trade policy.
• Market Access and Compliance: helps create trade opportunities through the removal of market access barriers and works to achieve full compliance by foreign nations with U.S. trade agreements.
• Import Administration: enforces U.S. trade laws and agreements by preventing unfairly traded imports and safeguarding the competitive strength of U.S. businesses.

TRADE TOPICS:

• About Trade (including: foreign trade zones, sustainability, market access, standards, etc.)
• Exporting (including: national export initiative, trade agreements, general export assistance, etc.)
• Compliance (including: import monitoring program, trade compliance center, etc.)
• Enforcement (including: laws and regulations, trade compliance filing, trade remedies, etc.)
• Events (including: conferences, trade events, webinars, domestic trade shows, etc.)

DATA & ANALYSIS:

• Competitiveness
• Industry Analysis
• Statistics
• Trade Stats Express
• Also Organized by Industry

PROGRAMS:

• Advisory Committees
• Afghanistan Investment and Reconstruction
• Americas Competitiveness Forum
• Good Governance
• Invest in America
• Iraq Investment and Reconstruction
• Market Development Cooperator Program
• SABIT
• Safe Harbor
• StopFakes
• Strategic Partnership Program
• Sustainable Business