INTERNATIONAL TRADE CENTRE UNCTAD/GATT

Abstract

This chapter provides an overview of International Trade Centre (ITC). The ITC was established in Geneva on the basis of a decision of the contracting parties to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade on March 19, 1964, as a part of GATT's program to expand the trade of developing States. The ITC began operating in May of that year as a division of GATT with the functions of providing developing countries with information on export markets and marketing, and helping them to develop the export promotion services and in the training of the personnel required for these services. In the latter part of 1967, the Secretary General of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development and the Director-General of GATT recommended that ITC become a semiautonomous institution under the joint sponsorship of GATT and the United Nations to avoid duplication in export promotion efforts for developing countries. This proposal was approved by the contracting parties to the GATT, the Trade and Development Board of UNCTAD, and the UN General Assembly, and took effect on January 1, 1968.