Available for free download: A PDF copy of my guide
“Tips for Finding Quality Cost-free Internet Resources in International Business”

Click on a type of source in the table to jump to that listing.

Blogs, Academic, and Research Institutes

United States and Canadian Governments

Business and  Commercial

International Organizations

• BusinessDictionary.com-- "Features over 20,000 terms and over 115,000 links between related terms, providing a clear and concise description of any and all business terms."

• Cato Institute-- This libertarian U.S. think-tank features a large online library of free policy studies and briefings, some on international affairs, such those of the Center for Trade Policy Studies, publicizing the benefits of free trade and the costs of protectionism. Note the Institute's annual Economic Freedom of the World report, free online, that ranks countries on dozens of measures of economic freedom.

• Fraser Institute-- Independent Canadian research and educational organization with the mission "to measure, study, and communicate the impact of competitive markets and government intervention on the welfare of individuals." Sponsors the Economic Freedom of the World Project (Free the World), which conducts and posts detailed comparative studies on economic freedom around the world, most notably the Economic Freedom of the World Report, with both global and country-specific analysis and rankings.

• globalEDGE-- From the International Business Center at Michigan State University, "a knowledge web-portal that connects international business professionals worldwide to a wealth of information, insights, and learning resources on global business activities" by countries, U.S. states, industries, and trade blocs with "statistics, indices, trade information, maps, interactive rankings, and resources pages." The Global Resource Directory "offers a rich collection of thousands of international business- and trade-related resources." There is an international business glossary.

• Global Integrity-- "Generates, synthesizes, and disseminates credible, comprehensive and timely information on governance and corruption trends around the world... Our information is meant to serve simultaneously as a roadmap for engaged citizens, a reform checklist for policymakers, and a guide to the business climate for investors." Posts much insightful data and analysis. Note especially the Global Integrity Report and the Global Integrity Index.

• Group of 8 Information Centre-- From the G8 Research Group at the University of Toronto, "G7/G8 background information, all documentation arising from G7 summit meetings, available documentation from G7 ministerial and other meetings," and "scholarly articles and bibliographies about the G7 process."

• Index of Economic Freedom-- "A [searchable] practical reference guide to the world's economies. It includes country-by-country analyses and the most up-to-date data available on foreign investment codes, taxes, tariffs, banking regulations, monetary policy, black markets, and more," from the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank aiming to spread the ideas of free enterprise, limited government, individual freedom, traditional American values, and a strong national defense. Co-published with The Wall Street Journal.

• Institute for Management Development-- One of the world's leading global business schools, located in Lausanne, Switzerland, working to help executives and companies find new and innovative ways to sustain global competitiveness. Note the online information from their widely-quoted World Competitiveness Yearbook, "the world’s most renowned and comprehensive annual report on the competitiveness of nations, ranking and analyzing how a nation’s environment creates and sustains the competitiveness of enterprises."

• International Trade Compliance Institute-- From the El Camino College Center for International Trade Development, extensive information on compliance with international trade regulations (with database), glossary, import-export basics, news alerts, and country resources.

• International Trade Resources-- Excellent and very useful "Subject Tracer™ Information Blog developed and created by the Virtual Private Library™. It is designed to bring together the latest resources and sources on an ongoing basis from the Internet covering the latest international trade resources..."

• Juris International-- "Multilingual collection... of legal information on international trade... to facilitate and reduce the work involved in research for business lawyers, advisers and in-house counsel, and state organizations in developing and transition economies, by providing access to [full] texts which have often been difficult to obtain."

• Peter G. Peterson Institute for International Economics-- A highly-regarded, private, nonprofit, nonpartisan American research institution devoted to the study of international economic policy, especially in anticipating emerging issues and offering "practical ideas, presented in user-friendly formats, to inform and shape public debate." Many working papers, policy briefs, speeches, testimonies, and so forth are online.

• Transparency International-- "The global civil society organisation leading the fight against corruption...[with a mission] to create change towards a world free of corruption... by building momentum for the anti-corruption movement, raising awareness and diminishing apathy and tolerance of corruption, as well as devising and implementing practical actions to address it." TI's many excellent online corruption surveys, indices, working papers, and reports analyze and rank countries "in terms of the degree to which they are perceived to be the homes of... public officials who abuse their office for personal gain."

• Bureau of Economic Analysis of the U.S. Department of Commerce-- Data, articles, and surveys on exports, imports, and capital flows to and from the U.S., and its  position in the world economy.

• Commercial Service of the U.S. Department of Commerce in Tokyo, Japan-- Information about doing business in Japan and the Japanese economy, plus U.S. and Japanese links.

• Customs and Border Protection-- "The single unified border agency of the United States." Information on the agency's border control and customs functions, with official statements, import, export, border security, and international travel information, regulations, statistics, and forms. Note the Customs Rulings Online Search System, a searchable database of CBP rulings, plus trade-related links.

• Department of Agriculture Agency Reports-- "Newsroom" to access and search current and past reports of the Economic Research Service, Foreign Agricultural Service, National Agricultural Statistics Service, and World Agricultural Outlook Board of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

• Export.gov-- "The portal to all export-related assistance and market information offered by the [U.S.] federal government." A huge amount of current market information and analysis for many products and countries, advice on practical matters, and links to related U.S. government websites on trade topics is available through this searchable site. The excellent Market Research section contains many analytical reports and statistics on a wide range of international business-related information, including country situations and practices. Note the U.S. Free Trade Agreements section. The tariffs and import fees calculator for international markets helps you find and calculate estimated tariffs and taxes on products. The free trade agreement tariff tool allows users to find tariff information and export data on specific industrial goods covered under the FTAs.

• Export-Import Bank-- The Export-Import Bank of the United States is an independent U.S. government agency that helps finance the overseas sales of U.S. goods and services.

• Foreign Agricultural Service-- Searchable news and analysis on world agricultural trade and policy, from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, by countries and commodities, especially as affects the United States. The USDA Economic Research Service U.S. Agricultural Trade Briefing Room has information and data on U.S. agricultural trade with all the countries and regions of the world. Also see the more general USDA Economic Research Service Briefing Rooms for much topical information and analysis.

• International Labor Comparisons, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics-- Comparative statistical information on labor conditions and developments outside the United States.

• Office of Travel and Tourism Industries, International Trade Administration, Department of Commerce-- Statistics and analysis on US international tourism, both outgoing and incoming.

• Overseas Private Investment Corporation-- An independent U.S. government agency that assists U.S. companies investing in some 150 emerging economies around the world.

• Trade.gov-- Website of the International Trade Administration of the U.S. Department of Commerce, "provides access to ITA's valuable information and services regarding U.S. international trade policy." Note the Market Research Library (with fine country commercial guides) and the Market Access and Compliance section, which ensures that trade agreements that the U. S. signs are monitored and complied with.

• Trade Data Online-- From Industry Canada, the latest searchable trade data for the U.S. and Canada, obtained from Statistics Canada and the U.S. Department of Commerce, by product and industry. "Provides the ability to generate customized reports on Canada's and U.S. trade in goods with over 200 countries."

• TradeStats Express-- From the Office of Trade and Economic Analysis in the International Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, information about U.S. imports and exports that can be arranged, compared, and contrasted in many combinations and in a clear format by an advanced search facility.

• U.S. Foreign Trade Statistics-- From the U.S. Census Bureau. Includes profile of U.S. exporting companies.

• U.S. International Trade Commission-- An independent, quasi-judicial federal agency that provides trade expertise to government, determines the impact of imports on U.S. industries, and directs actions against certain unfair trade practices, such as patent, trademark, and copyright infringement. The very useful Interactive Tariff and Trade DataWeb allows customized free searches of various types of U.S. trade data by country and product. Also note the many publications free online. The Harmonized Tariff Schedule section "contains the chapter-by-chapter listing of the [U.S.] Harmonized Tariff Schedule and general notes."

• United States Trade Representative-- Responsible for developing and coordinating U.S. international trade, commodity, and direct investment policy, and leading or directing negotiations with other countries on such matters. Note the searchable document library and the many full-text reports and trade agreements available, plus the issue, regional, and sector-specific sections, including U.S. trade policy.

• Doing Business in…-- From HLB International, a fine set of country business guides..."prepared for the use of clients, partners and staff of HLB International member firms. They are designed to give some general information to those contemplating doing business in other countries and are not intended to be comprehensive documents."

• Economist-- The outstanding global news weekly from London, with research tools and searchable archives. Note the Markets and Data section.

• Economist Intelligence Unit-- This affiliate of  the Economist provides "instant access to global business intelligence," some free and some on a subscription basis.

• Euromoney Online-- This site includes Euromoney and World Link magazines, extended research and surveys, capital markets league tables from Euromoney's proprietary databases, and dates of forthcoming industry summits, conferences and seminars.  Requires free registration.

• ExecutivePlanet-- "To inspire business travelers to travel with greater cultural awareness," explanations of business cultures and practices, protocol, and cross-cultural tips for major trading nations around the world.

• Financial Times-- The famous international business newspaper from London.

• Getting Through Customs-- By the intercultural training firm of the same name, selections, tips, and quizzes on customs, taboos, holidays, and general dos and don'ts around the world.

• Global Trade.net-- Excellent site from the Federation of International Trade Associations that "assists in helping importers and exporters prepare their operations and find service providers to assist with their overseas business needs." Contains a knowledge resource of thousands of international trade reports, tips, and newsflows; a database of thousands of service providers worldwide; and a directory of Really Useful Links for International Trade.

• International Chamber of Commerce-- From "the world business organization," information on the organization, its activities, national affiliates, conferences, and international trade and investment generally.

• International stock market quotes-- Major world indices from Yahoo!

• Journal of Commerce-- World-class international business newspaper, searchable and with archives.

• Kwintessential Language and Culture Specialists of the UK provide cross-cultural guidance in the form of Country Profiles, key phrases, articles, and online quizzes.

• Lex Mundi Guides to Doing Business-- "Collection of overviews written by Lex Mundi member [law] firms that provide detailed information about each firm’s country, state, or province." Includes the U.S. and Canada.

• Live Currency Converter-- "Converts any amount from one currency to another with more than 150 foreign currenies available. Exchange rates are updated every hour."

• Market Watch-- From the Wall Street Journal, thorough coverage of the world's stock markets.

• Universal Currency Converter-- This full version of the Universal Currency Converter figures rates among over 180 currencies. A standard version is also available for most uses.

• U.S. Council for International Business-- American affiliate of the International Chamber of Commerce, the Business and Industry Advisory Committee to the OECD, and the International Organisation of Employers. It officially represents U.S. business positions both in the main intergovernmental bodies and to foreign business communities and their governments.

• Wall Street Journal-- The world famous Dow Jones business and finance newspaper, online. Includes special editions for the World, Europe, Asia, and India.

• Bank for International Settlements-- Owned and controlled by national central banks, the BIS provides services to central banks and, through them, to the international financial system more generally. Site hosts Publications on world banking, statistics on international finance, links to the central banks of the world, and a Central Bank Research Hub with publications from the world's central banks.

• Consumers International-- "Worldwide non-profit federation of consumer organisations, dedicated to the protection and promotion of consumer interests." Publications, annual report, newsletters, campaigns, issues, links.

• FDI.net--  Supported by several governments and the UN's Industrial Development Organization, "a unique web portal that offers free, on-demand country analysis and information on all things related to foreign direct investment in 175 countries. The site combines business and public resources with World Bank Group analysis to provide users with a single entry point for the full-spectrum of information needed to make a decision about investing in a foreign country."

• Foreign Trade Information System-- Trade Unit of the Organization of American States, with information, statistics, and documents about hemispheric integration, trade trends in the Western Hemisphere, and links to further data.

• Free Trade Area of the Americas-- "Official home page of the Free Trade Area of the Americas process or FTAA. This site follows the process initiated in the 1994 Summit of the Americas to integrate the economies of the Western Hemisphere into a single free trade arrangement."

• GATT Digital Library-- From Stanford University, "this site provides access to documents and information of and about the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), an organization that promoted international commerce and the reduction of trade barriers among member states from 1947-1994."

• Global Preferential Trade Agreement Database-- From the International Trade Department of the World Bank, "information on preferential trade agreements around the world, including agreements that have not been notified to the World Trade Organization... indexed using a classification consistent with the WTO criteria... that allows users to search PTAs around the world by provisions or keywords and to compare provisions across multiple agreements."

• Global Trade Alert—“Provides real-time information on state measures taken during the current global downturn that are likely to affect foreign commerce. It goes beyond other monitoring initiatives by identifying the trading partners likely to be harmed by these measures.” Supported by the World Bank and several other prestigious organizations.

• International Council for Commercial Arbitration-- "Worldwide non-governmental organization dedicated to promoting and developing arbitration, conciliation and other forms of international dispute resolution.  ICCA convenes conferences, produces leading dispute resolution publications and works toward harmonization of arbitration and conciliation law and practice." Posts news, publications, and information about dispute resolution.

• International Monetary Fund-- The IMF oversees a wide range of international economic and financial issues. Numerous publications on economic and financial issues, including country information and World Economic Outlook, are available and searchable online. The Data Mapper presents World Economic Outlook data in map, graphic, and bubble chart form, such as GDP, inflation, and current account balance, from 1980 to the present, plus five-year projections. The Financial Soundness Indicators database is "aimed at supporting macroprudential analysis—the surveillance and assessment of the strengths and vulnerabilities of financial systems." The Quarterly Public Sector Debt Database "offers access to public sector debt statistics for 30 emerging market and developing countries and will be updated every three months." Also see the quarterly journal Finance and Development.

• International Organization for Standardization (ISO)-- An NGO "network of the national standards institutes of 162 countries, on the basis of one member per country, with a Central Secretariat in Geneva, Switzerland, that coordinates the system." Site has information on the ISO and its work, with documents and reports about the standardization of products and services in the global market.

• International Trade Centre-- A  joint subsidiary organ of the WTO and the United Nations, ITC posts excellent infobases, including bibliographies, trade contacts and information sources, international trade statistics, services, and market briefs.

• Market Access Database-- From the Commission of the European Union, market and trade flow data by country, sector, or legal agreement area for scores of non-EU countries.  Also see the European Commission's External Trade site for much information on EU trade matters, internally and with non-members.

• NAFTA Secretariat-- Organization responsible for administration of NAFTA dispute settlements. This site posts "information on the dispute settlement proceedings, legal texts and panel decisions and reports respecting the NAFTA."

• Organization for Economic Development and Cooperation-- The international organization of the industrialized, market-economy countries, to exchange information and harmonize policy to maximize economic growth within member countries and assist non-member countries to develop more rapidly. OECD statistics and many data sets are posted online. The searchable Publications and Documents section is a good place to start. OECD resources focusing on a particular country (OECD member or not) can be found  at the Country Portal. Note the Economics Department, with many publications online. The very useful yearly OECD Factbook is "an essential tool providing a global overview of world economic, social and environmental trends." An interactive eXplorer feature allows Factbook time-series data manipulation on a world map and a scatter plot screen. Read the online version of the OECD Observer magazine for a topical approach to the latest interests of OECD research.

• UN Comtrade, International Merchandise Trade Statistics-- From the United Nations Statistics Division, "This web site provides access to information and data on International Merchandise Trade Statistics and the work of the International Merchandise Trade Statistics Section of the United Nations Statistics Division."

• United Nations Commission on International Trade Law-- "Core legal body of the United Nations system in the field of international trade law... [whose] business is the modernization and harmonization of rules on international business." Posts resources on international trade law and arbitration.

• United Nations Conference on Trade and Development-- "UNCTAD is the principal organ of the United Nations General Assembly dealing with trade, investment and development issues." Site posts major development studies in summary or full-text, basic documents, and newsletters. UNCTADStat is the master location for all UNCTAD statistics and is continuously updated. Many UNCTAD Programmes and Activities subsites are relevant to international business, such as Investment and Enterprise and Trade Analysis.

• World Bank Group-- This central site includes the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the International Development Agency, the International Finance Corporation, the Multilateral Guarantee Agency, and the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes. A very large number of excellent online publications is available. Take a look at the large Data and Research section. See the journal Finance & Development. Check out the large Trade section of the Bank, with many online publications. The very useful Doing Business site "provides objective measures of business regulations and their enforcement across 181 economies and selected cities at the subnational and regional level," especially concerning how regulations "enhance or constrain investment, productivity, and growth." Country business environment profile and annual world-wide reports are available. Business Environment Snapshots is a very useful and thorough country profiling facility, a "one-stop guide to business environment indicators, laws, and World Bank Group project information for 151 countries." The Political Risk Insurance Center provides country analyses and research tools. The Business Planet interactive map-based website "maps flagship online databases of the World Bank Group that support private sector-led growth and financial market development in developing countries." The World Bank's Enterprise Analysis unit allows user-customized inquiries with the Enterprise Surveys of "data from face-to-face interviews with top managers and business owners in over 130,000 companies in 125 economies." World Trade Indicators is a comparative "interactive tool... designed to benchmark a country’s trade policy and institutions and help policy makers, advisors, and analysts identify the main border and behind-the border constraints to trade integration."

• World Customs Organization-- This international organization dealing with customs regulations worldwide posts much information, explanation, and analysis of customs regulations and procedures, news, WTO recommendations, historical documents, a magazine, and links to national customs authorities.

• World Economic Forum-- A world-class organization of leaders from business, government, academia, and the media partnering to create new business opportunities and to shape and address in an action-oriented way the key issues on the global agenda. Many excellent online publications about international business. Note the prestigious annual reports on Global Competitiveness, Global Enabling Trade, Financial Development, Global Gender Gap, Global Risk, and other valuable global, regional, and country reports.

• World Trade Organization-- The only global body dealing with the rules of trade among nations, whose agreements are the legal ground-rules for international commerce and for trade policy. This excellent site has a huge amount of information on international trade, including all official documents issued under the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT). Note the Resources page for statistics, research, publications and other services of the WTO, the International Trade Statistics page, and the Official Documents page for searchable access to all online official WTO documents. The annual World Tariff Profiles "provides detailed data on the bound and applied tariffs of WTO members." The detailed WTO annual report on international trade statistics and the Trade Profiles booklet are especially useful. There is a regional trade agreements section with an Information System that allows retrieval of information on all RTAs notified to the GATT/WTO. The Tariff Download Facility database "contains comprehensive information on Most- Favoured-Nation (MFN) applied and bound tariffs at the standard Harmonized System (HS) subheading level for all WTO Members." Note the Chronological List of Disputes Cases and the Map of Disputes between WTO Members.