Globally, the OECD www.oecd.org/ech, UNCTAD www.unctad.org, and the World Bank www.worldbank.org/research/trade (with specific pages on trade, education and commodity prices) are a good place to start. The WTO, www.wto.org, offers summaries of its trade policy reviews for member countries and a searchable document dissemination facility. The Trade and Development Centre www.itd.org features details of trade-related training courses and www.wssn.net/WSSN is an excellent network of standards organisations.

Regional organisations such as the Organisation of American States has a Foreign Trade Information System www.sice.oas.org offering the full text of major trade and investment agreements and quantitative data on the Americas.

National organisations include British Trade International www.brittrade.com, the US International Trade Administration www.ita.doc.gov/, the Hong Kong Trade Development Council www.tdc.org.hk/, the Singapore Trade Development Board www.tdb.gov.sg/ and the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade www.ccpit.org/engVersion/indexEn.html.

Trade promotion: The International Trade Centre www.intracen.org/itc/welcome.htm features legal aspects of foreign trade, market news, trade contacts, and free access to recent years of the UNCTAD Comtrade database. The International Trade Law Monitor lexmercatoria.net offers information on international commercial law by subject, such as free trade, sale of goods, transport, insurance, payment.

Industrial promotion: The Centre for Technology Exchange and Training for Small and Medium Enterprises www.actetsme.org and Africa Business Network www.ifc.org/abn/index.htm provide good information services for SMEs.

Research centres include Global Trade Watch www.tradewatch.org and www.wtowatch.org with up-to-date analysis on trade policy. The International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development www.ictsd.org features an on-line resource centre and downloadable copies of its monthly publication, Bridges. Others include the Global Trade Analysis Project www.agecon.purdue.edu/gtap, the South African Trade and Industrial Policy Secretariat www.tips.org.za/index2.html, the US National Bureau of Economic Research papers.nber.org/papersbyprog/ITI.html, and the UK Centre for Economic Policy Research www.cepr.org/home_ns.asp.

Email: EdwardA@ids.ac.uk