39 basic tools for international trade

There are lots of good sources to learn, University and professional/continuous training organizations, private companies or with the help of consultants, organizations and public bodies of all kinds (e.g., www.icex.es, www.plancameral.org).

Information flows at a faster pace during the last 25 years, it was impressive and it enjoys exponential growth; here, we will mention useful links and apps to go ahead with the day to day of the export process.

There are a few little helps that we can enjoy mobile (most of these apps have their web version too); they are Google translate (translator), Xe currency (currency), CityMapper (transport options in cities, including US major cities), CultureCompass (etiquette, culture and society), FlightAware (when is goona land your flight? Is your client going to be late?) and, very useful for professional networking (Linkedin and Xing, “relationships” in German-speaking countries).
Most of the information is not in apps -not yet-, but on the web.

I´d mention UFI (international fairs), global electric guide and additional infos (can you think about your loved devices not working in your destination, what a mess!), www.convert-me.com (unit converter), EU translation (various resources and services, including a “style guide” for unambiguous writing), surveys, analysis and public opinion, Esomar (market research companies and data solutions), www.dnb.com (credit risk! and more), trademarks and patents in the EU and the USA, world customs organization (yes, from there you can access the “HS” -Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System, a worldwide version of ” TARIC“– the European system), industry standards for global and regional markets, information on electronic markets and trade leads, access to EU markets, country risk, statistical data by country (and other comparative figures of commercial interest), time/dates of interest and holidays (perhaps your activity is delayed because a partner is enjoying the “golden week”).

Finally, and in order to have a general overview of countries, instead of dense sources such as the OECD, the World Bank or the IMF, I think it is more useful to check the CIA Factbook, compact, reliable and able to save our precious time. Same thing for www.fita.org, which happens to offer -some of the other sites we mentioned before also have that option-, a non-invasive newsletter, to keep us informed of their interesting updates; useful, only in German this time, is also the information of the IHK Hannover (ISO currency and country, vehicle plates, FTAs and preferential agreements, a smaller version -in English-, here).
Did you find the information useful? Do you need advice on foreign trade and international sales?, please contact me or follow me on social media.

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