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Frequently Used Tools:




International Trade

Subject Guides: Business and Economics

This symbol indicates a "blue ribbon" source. Try these first!

COUNTRY BACKGROUND--CULTURAL

Country Studies <http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/cshome.html>
Provides a comprehensive full-text source of background information on the history, politics, culture, and economy of about 90 countries. Based on a series of books prepared by the U.S. Library of Congress.

Culturgrams Ref. GT150 .C85
Briefly summarize the unique customs, values, traditions and lifestyles within 110 nations around the world. Emphasis on society and culture of foreign nations.

Lonely Planet <http://www.lonelyplanet.com/destinations/>
Lonely Planet publishes guidebooks for independent travelers. Known for reliable travel information, historical background, and cultural insights.

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COUNTRY BACKGROUND--ECONOMIC & POLITICAL

Background Notes <http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/>
From the U.S. Dept. of State, excellent brief introductions to the nations of the world. Emphasis on government, politics, and foreign relations.

Country Commercial Guides
Prepared by U.S. embassies and federal agencies. CCG's summarize the facts about doing business in a particular country. The CCG's are available within StatUSA/National Trade Data Bank, a UT Libraries business database . Choose the NTDB, then the Country Commercial Guides under "Market and Country Research."

Economist.com Country Briefings <http://www.economist.com/countries/index.cfm>
News, country profiles, forecasts, statistics and more for 60 major nations as provided by the Economist Intelligence Unit.

Infonation <http://www.un.org/Pubs/CyberSchoolBus/infonation/e_infonation.htm>
An easy-to-use database that allows you to compare up-to-date statistical data for member states of the United Nations.

OECD Economic Surveys
Annual surveys of political and economic activity in 24 developed nations of Europe, Asia, and North America. Available through SourceOECD, a UT Libraries business database providing access to publications of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development.

Stat-USA/National Trade Data Bank A UT Libraries business database
A good place to begin locating foreign country background and data. Contains foreign trade information and economic overviews of countries around the world. All are full text documents, primarily from U.S. government agencies concerned with foreign trade.

United Nations Statistical Yearbook Ref. HA12.5.U63
Comprehensive collection of statistical data for the world, including regions and nations. Data on economics, demographics, trade, living conditions, etc. are covered.

World Factbook <http://www.cia/gov/cia/publications/factbook/>, also Ref. G122.U56al
From the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency, provides brief overviews of the nations of the world, summarizing their demographic, political, economic, and social status. A quick way to get country data online.

World Markets Country Analysis & Forecast A UT Libraries business database
Country Analysis and Forecasting provides a comprehensive overview, including country risk ratings, of the political, economic, and business environments within 186 countries. Also includes daily analysis of international events affecting business

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CURRENCY CONVERTERS

Oanda.com, the Currency Place <http://www.oanda.com/convert/classic>
Universal Currency Converter <http://www.xe.com/ucc/>
Both provide an extensive set of currency conversion and foreign exchange information services for travelers, investors and businesses. Have both current and historical rates.

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GUIDES & INTERNET GATEWAYS

Global Edge <http://globaledge.msu.edu/ibrd/ibrd.asp>
One of the best web gateways to international business information. From Michigan State University, it includes news reports, country background, trade resources, culture, etc.

Virtual International Business and Economics Sources <http://libweb.uncc.edu/vibes/>
Background information and data from government agencies, business publishers, and commercial Internet providers of value to international trade research.

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INTERNATIONAL CORPORATE BACKGROUND

Hoover's Online <http://www.hoovers.com>
A quick information source for companies, both U.S. and foreign, on the Web. Provides brief profiles of companies, plus links to business headlines, company web pages, industry overviews, and more. UT Libraries users will find Hoover's Profiles included in the Business section of Lexis Nexis Academic (a UT Libraries business database) as one of the selections under Company Profiles.

International Directory of Company Histories A UT Libraries business database
An encyclopedia covering the history and development of the world's companies, leaders in their industry or geographical location with at least $50 million in sales. Includes both U.S. and international corporations.

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INTERNATIONAL COMPANY DIRECTORIES

Corporate Affiliations.com A UT Libraries business database
A guide to corporate links of international corporations and their divisions, subsidiaries, and affiliates.

Directory of American Firms Operating in Foreign Countries Ref. HG4538 .A1D5
Directory of Foreign Firms Operating in the United States Ref. HG4057 .A21
Has lists arranged geographically with address and contact information for American firms operating abroad and foreign firms in the U.S.

Europages <http://www.europages.net>
A directory of European manufacturing firms that may be searched by country, company name, or product, or browsed by category. Provides address, telephone and fax number, workforce size and turnover/sales in euros for each company listed.

Principal International Businesses Ref. HF54.U6D85
This directory provides brief information on 50,000 leading enterprises in 133 nations, arranged by country, by product/industry category, and by company name.

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INTERNATIONAL CORPORATE FINANCES

Mergent Online A UT Libraries business database
The electronic equivalent of Moody's Manuals, this database provides financial summaries and links to annual corporate shareholder reports for approximately 17,000 non-U.S. companies.

Thomson Research A UT Libraries business database
For foreign corporations, provides summary reports of current financial status plus full text of corporate stockholder reports. If the corporation is traded on a U.S. stock exchange, financial disclosure forms filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission are included.

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TRADE & TARIFF SCHEDULES

Schedule B Export Codes (Foreign Trade Classification Schedule) <http://www.census.gov/foreign-trade/schedules/b/>, also Ref. HF1455.O44
Trade transactions are classified by product and assigned a 10-digit identification code. The export codes are called Schedule B and are the official commodity classifications used in reporting U. S. export statistics.

Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the U.S. <http://www.usitc.gov/tata/hts/index.htm>
Import codes for commodities are found in the Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HST). Available here are the full text of the codes for browsing, a simplified version, and a database for searching, .

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TRADE INFORMATION & REGULATIONS

Country Commerce A UT Libraries business database
Designed to help executive decision-making about business opportunities in 65 of the world's major countries. Covers laws, regulations, taxes, investment climate, etc.

Country Commercial Guides
Prepared by U.S. embassies and federal agencies. CCG's summarize the facts about doing business in a particular country. The CCG's are available within StatUSA/National Trade Data Bank, a UT Libraries business database. Choose the NTDB, then the Country Commercial Guides under "Market and Country Research."

Country Finance A UT Libraries business database
In-depth information on the financial, regulatory, and economic environment of 48 major economies around the world, and on international financial techniques and cross-border sources of financing.

Doing ebusiness in... <http://www.ebusinessforum.com/>
From the Economist Intelligence Unit, individual surveys of e-business infrastructure, regulation, taxation, and key issues in over 60 nations. Click on "Doing Ebusiness in..." on the top menu bar.

Exporters Encyclopedia Ref.HF3011 .E9
Comprehensive foreign trade guide with information on trade contacts, export regulations, document requirements, transportation and communication facilities, etc. for nations worldwide.

Stat-USA/National Trade Data Bank A UT Libraries business database
Locate foreign country background and data in this database of full text documents from U.S. government agencies concerned with foreign trade. Has both foreign trade data and economic overviews of countries around the world.

World Markets Country Analysis & Forecast A UT Libraries business database
Country Analysis and Forecast provides a comprehensive overview, including risk ratings, of the political, economic, and business environment in 186 countries. Within an individual country report, look at the sections on legal, tax, operational, and security environments.

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TRADE STATISTICS

Foreign Trade of the United States Ref. HF3031.F68
Compilation of U.S. export and import data, including state and metro area data.

Foreign Trade Statistics <http://www.census.gov/foreign-trade/statistics/index.html>
From the U.S. Bureau of the Census, current and historical export/import statistics by country and by product category.

Index to International Statistics (IIS) Documents/Microforms Z7551.A3153
Helps to locate specific statistical data found in publications issued by international agencies such as the United Nations, OAS, OECD, WHO, etc. Nearly all materials indexed here are available in the library in paper or microfiche. Available also as part of LexisNexis Statistical, a UT Libraries business database.

International Trade Statistics Yearbook Ref. HF91. U473
Provides data on foreign trade of individual countries, including both overall trends and specific commodities.

Stat-USA/National Trade Data Bank A UT Libraries business database
Has both foreign trade data and economic overviews of foreign nations. Based on full text documents from U.S. government agencies concerned with international affairs.

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LOCATING ARTICLES on INTERNATIONAL TRADE & FOREIGN COUNTRIES

Business Source Premier A UT Libraries business database
Search by company name, product, or subject in this index of 3000 popular, trade, and scholarly business journals; coverage begins in the 1970s. Full text is available for most of the titles beginning in 1991.

Factiva A UT Libraries business database
Search the full text of over 8,000 newspapers, periodicals, wire services, media transcripts from sources around the world for articles about companies, products, and subjects.

General BusinessFile ASAP A UT Libraries business database
Indexes business magazines and newspapers, trade journals, and brokerage reports and can be searched for company names, products, and subjects. Some full text articles included.

Lexis-Nexis Academic A UT Libraries business database
Search both the News and the Business sections of this database for the full text of articles from a variety of sources about international business and foreign trade. Can limit coverage to foreign publications.

RDS Business & Industry A UT Libraries business database
This index of trade and industry journals is a primary source of corporate, industry and product information. Full text available for most articles. International scope.

World Markets Country Analysis & Forecast A UT Libraries business database
Country Analysis and Forecast provides the full text of daily briefs, analysis, and special reports on business and economic news around the world. Also has overviews of the political, economic, and business environment in 186 countries.

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LOCATING BOOKS

Use the UT Libraries catalog to find call numbers and locations of books about international trade. Try any of these subject headings in the catalog: Business Etiquette; (country name)--Commerce; Export Marketing; Intercultural Communication; Investments, American; Investments, Foreign; Manners and Customs; National Characteristics.

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Created and maintained by Karmen Crowther, Business Librarian
Last revision:3/11/08