General Trade Resources
Library databases on international trade (beyond the UN) include:
- World Trade Online This link opens in a new windowOnline access to the publication Inside U.S. Trade from 1993 to the latest issue. Also provides daily news updates and a collection of over 55,000 trade-related policy papers, WTO decisions, draft and final regulations, court decisions, legislation and other documents.
- OECD iLibrary This link opens in a new windowThe online publications portal of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. OECD is not part of the United Nations, but provides data and statistics on its 34 member countries.
World Trade Organization
The World Trade Organization (WTO) promotes open trade between countries of the world. WTO members agree to abide by WTO agreements such as the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT). The WTO also provides a mechanism for settling trade disputes between member nations.
- Documents Online - World Trade OrganizationFulltext official documentation of the WTO, 1995-present, including Trade Policy Reviews and legal texts of WTO agreements. Includes selected Uruguay Round documents and GATT documents.
- WTO Trade StatisticsThe WTO's data gateway.Includes trading climate of various countries, current and historical international trade statistics, and trade policies.
- WTO Trade DisputesA list of disputes (current and historical) brought before the WTO. Can search by countries involved, chronology, or topic.
- WTO's International Trade Statistics"The WTO Data portal contains statistical indicators related to WTO issues. Available time series cover merchandise trade and trade in services statistics, market access indicators (bound, applied & preferential tariffs), non-tariff information as well as other indicators.
Data retrieval functionalities include data selection, display and export, including available metadata."
Trade Data
Looking for trade data or statistics? Try these resources first:
- International Financial Statistics - Online This link opens in a new windowThis International Monetary Fund source provides current and historical financial information on member countries. Includes exchange rates, inflation and deflation, government finance, balance of payments, money and banking, and national income accounts. International Financial Statistics Yearbooks (1979 - ) are in LAU Stacks at HG 3881.I6262 (latest year at reference desk). Monthly print editions in Ref. HG 3881.I626.
- WDI Online This link opens in a new windowComparable data collected by the World Bank to measure development outcomes. The World Bank's principal data source on the global economy. More than 550 time series, 1960-present, on more than 200 countries and 18 country groups, covering demographic, social, economic, financial, natural resources, and environmental indicators.
- UN Commodity Trade Statistics Database (Comtrade) This link opens in a new windowAnnual compilation of trade statistics from over 130 countries, detailed by commodity and partner country. The data are processed into a standard format with consistent coding and valuation. All values are converted into U.S. dollars using exchange rates supplied by the countries, or derived from monthly market rates and volume of trade. For many countries, the data coverage starts as far back as 1962 and goes up to the most recent completed year. [N.B.: GU only has access to the "free" version of Comtrade; we are not premium subscribers.]
International Monetary Fund and World Bank
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) aims to maintain an orderly world economy by promoting communication of national monetary policy, supporting unrestricted exchange rates and international economic growth, and providing advice (and money, if necessary) to countries in danger of upsetting the balance of payments system.
The World Bank lends money and provides technical assistance to developing countries to combat poverty and promote continued economic development.
To facilitate their work, the IMF and World Bank closely monitor the global economy and economic health of countries around the world, providing a rich source of data for researchers.
- IMF eLibrary This link opens in a new windoweLibrary simplifies analysis and research with direct access to the IMF’s periodicals, books, working papers and studies, and data and statistical tools. Freely available as of Jan 2020.
- World Bank Data Catalog This link opens in a new windowThe World Bank's Open Data initiative is intended to provide all users with access to World Bank data. These resources include databases, pre-formatted tables and reports.
- International Monetary FundThe IMF's official website.
- World BankOfficial website of the World Bank.
- The IMF and World Bank: How Do They Differ?A helpful introduction to the purposes and operations of the IMF and World Bank, and how they complement each other.
UN and International Trade
The UN has many bodies who consider matters of international trade and commerce. Besides the IMF, World Bank, and WTO, other UN agencies dealing with international trade include:
- UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA)DESA, a division of the UN Secretariat, works to promote UN development priorities. It issues the annual World Economic Situation and Prospects.
- United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD)UNCTAD is the lead UN agency on trade and development, and issues a wide range of publications and trade statistics, includind UNCTAD.Stat
- UNCTADstat / UN Conference on Trade and DevelopmentUnilateral and bilateral country-level time series on international trade, economic trends, foreign direct investment (FDI), external financial resources, commodities and maritime transport. Also includes data on the information economy and the creative economy.
- United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC)ECOSOC provides a forum for UN member states to discuss issues of trade and development. It has 54 rotating members, chosen geographically to represent the entire world.
- UN General Assemby -- Second CommitteeThe Second Committee of the GA deals with economic and financial matters. GA resolutions dealing with international trade often end up in this committee.
- International Maritime Organization (IMO)The UN's agency dealing with shipping. The IMO maintains data on global shipping via the Global Shipping Information System.
- World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO)The WIPO is a "global forum for intellectual property services, policy, information and cooperation." It publishes statistics on global IP trends.
- International Trade CentreProject of the United Nations and the World Trade Organization. Highlights the work and programs of the ITC and provides trade information and statistics for individual countries.
