The International Trade Centre (ITC) today unveiled a new version of Market Access Map, its popular online trade analysis tool. The revamped portal will further enhance market transparency and facilitate the analysis of trade-related policy issues.
Market Access Map responds to users’ specific needs depending on their profile and will continue to provide free and user-friendly access to market information. The tool is particularly vital for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in developing countries, which have limited access to reliable information about foreign markets.
The revamped portal allows exporters, importers, policymakers, trade and investment support institutions, researchers and trade negotiators to better understand and analyse market-access conditions, explore new markets, develop better trade policies, or negotiate better outcomes in trade agreements.
The new Market Access Map is simplified, more user-oriented and can now display customs tariffs as well as tariff rate quotas, non-tariff measures, trade agreements, and trade remedies in a single, unified search. The portal provides new functionalities, including enhanced data visualizations and a redesigned download function, which allows users to extract the underlying datasets on tariffs, non-tariff measures and trade flows. In addition, a wide range of navigation options, combined with a powerful set of analytical outputs – tables, maps and charts – make it easy to analyse trade-related information for sets of products, sectors and countries.
For example, a Ugandan exporter of roasted coffee looking to export its product to Egypt can use Market Access Map to search for market access conditions applicable to their product in the Egyptian market. In a single query the exporter can get information on customs tariffs, tariff rate quotas, trade regimes and available tariff preferences, trade remedies and regulatory requirements. With such information in hand, the Ugandan exporter can chart a better export strategy and connect with Egyptian potential buyers.
With the emergence of new trade relationships and increasingly complex trade barriers, small businesses are finding it harder to navigate global markets. The new Market Access Map provides MSMEs with the necessary information and analytics to make the right exporting decisions. Like many of ITC’s other data tools, Market Access Map will also be available through the Global Trade Helpdesk, a multi-agency initiative being led by ITC to create of unique entry point for trade-related information.
Announcing the new version of Market Access Map, ITC Executive Director Arancha González said: ‘This latest version of Market Access Map is another giant leap in ITC’s effort to ensure transparency in trade through providing free and easily accessible data and trade-related information to small businesses looking to break into new markets. Against the backdrop of current global trade tensions trade intelligence tools such as Market Access Map are important in demystifying trade opportunities for businesses, policymakers, and researchers.’