27 Oct 9 free online courses to become an expert in international trade

More and more companies are launching to export their products and services, but succeeding in international trade is not an easy task. It requires knowledge, dedication, effort and, above all, a trained and prepared staff. But it is also not easy to find the best materials to learn about international trade. That is why, as export professionals, we have compiled a list of nine free online courses that offer the best and most practical materials.

1. Introduction to Exporting to China.

The best way to enter the Chinese market. It offers a very complete global vision, as well as the business dynamics of the country and the cultural characteristics. The course, organized by the International Trade Center (ITC), addresses China’s market access requirements, as well as where to find specific information on importing. It also addresses key rules, regulations and laws on exporting to China and provides a pre-participation checklist for international trade fairs or exhibitions in China.

2. Helping SMEs Generate Export Business.

face-to-face and virtual. Both environments are covered in this ITC course that describes the techniques to create successful international businesses, describing their characteristics, pros, cons and challenges. In addition, it offers tools to apply the main steps for the development of an efficient business generation initiative. In the same way, the available options are analyzed with both face-to-face and virtual business generation activities for companies ready to export.

3. Export Finance and Payments.

This course focuses on real world export experiences, focusing on the trade finance industry to instruct on identifying and accessing appropriate trade finance products before and after shipment. Hosted by ITC, this training also goes into in-depth all the keys to effective negotiation. It is a course with a very practical focus on essential actions such as setting up and receiving payment by means of documentary credit, managing exchange risks or using credit insurance to minimize risks.

4. Introduction to International Transport and Logistics.

Ideal for small and medium businesses. In this training, ITC provides all the necessary information on the basic transport and logistics requirements of export operations, including cross-border shipping, air transport, and packaging procedures. Upon completion, anyone will be able to identify the main operational differences between national and international trade and better understand their operational performance.

5. How to Access International Markets.

The ITC offers, in this course, a solid base to enter international markets, since it develops all the basic concepts of access to the market of goods, covering tariffs and non-tariff measures. In addition, it includes practical exercises to learn how to use the free Market Access Map analytical portal, which provides detailed and up-to-date information on market access in more than 200 countries.

6. Understanding the Role of a Trade Support Institution.

Trade support institutions can be public administrations, trade promotion organizations or other entities such as chambers of commerce and sector organizations. All of them constitute one of the pillars of the technical assistance activities of the International Trade Center (ITC), an international organization promoted jointly by the United Nations (UN) and the World Trade Organization (WTO). This course explains what trade support institutions are and how they are classified. It also details the ways in which a portfolio of services is developed, focusing on exporters.

7. The tariff classification of the goods

An essential introduction to the tariff classification of goods based on the international nomenclature of products developed by the World Customs Organization (WCO). The Latin American Integration Association (Aladi) focuses, in this course, on the institutional and legal framework of said nomenclature, its structure and rules. It covers the tariff classification with practical examples.

8. Sustainable internationalization.

From the ICEX they have created a course to teach the different reasons why the sustainable development of companies is an important factor to incorporate into business strategy. In it, real cases are analyzed and different tools are shown to be able to measure and improve the company’s contributions in environmental and social terms. The existing financial and non-financial support for internationalization is also studied.

9. Doing Business in Europe.

Europe is an important global trading partner. Reason why the Coursea platform has organized a course to explain and guide companies wishing to do business in Europe. It begins with an approach to the European market to later address aspects such as innovation and investment in Europe.