Recommended web sites
Following are web sites that support a broad range of research in International Business.
These listed include information about countries of the world, business regulations, and trade associations.
If you have questions about any of these resources, please do not hesitate to contact me.
U.S. Bilateral Relations Fact Sheets (formerly: Background Notes)
Background Notes include facts about the land, people, history, government, political conditions, economy, and foreign relations of independent states, some dependencies, and areas of special sovereignty. The Background Notes are updated/revised by the Office of Electronic Information and Publications of the Bureau of Public Affairs as they are received from the Department's regional bureaus.
The CIA World Factbook provides general information about specific countries in the world, including sections on geography, demographics, economics, communications, transportation, military and transnational issues.
Select this link for country risk reports: http://www.coface.com/CofacePortal/COM_en_EN/pages/home/risks_home/country_risks
Doing Business: Benchmarking business Regulations
The Doing Business database provides indicators of the cost of doing business by identifying specific regulations that enhance or constrain business investment, productivity, and growth. The indicators are developed by the Private Sector Vice Presidency of the WBG in cooperation with the Lex Mundi Association of law firms, the International Bar Association, and Yale University's International Institute for Corporate Governance.
Energy Information Administration Country Analysis Briefs
This web site provides energy situation overviews for countries of current interest
Eurostat is the statistical office of the European Union and provides statistics covering numerous aspects of economics, populations, trade, industry, and the environment, among others.
Export.gov brings together resources from across the U.S. Government to assist American businesses in planning their international sales strategies and succeed in today’s global marketplace.
FITA: Federation of International Trade Associations
FITA, founded in 1984, fosters international trade by strengthening the role of local, regional, national and global associations that have an international mission. FITA provides resources, benefits and services to the international trade community and useful tools to help you do business globally.
GlobalEdge is a web portal providing a significant amount of information about international business, countries around the globe, US States, news, and industries.
The IMF is an international organization of 184 member countries. It was established to promote international monetary cooperation, exchange stability, and orderly exchange arrangements; to foster economic growth and high levels of employment; and to provide temporary financial assistance to countries to help ease balance of payments adjustment.
Data and metadata on over 200 countries from the International Labour Office
NationMaster is a source for generating data about countries of the world. Sources of data include the CIA World Factbook, the UN and the OECD, among others. Country profiles, maps, flags, and statistics are included in this site.
TradeStats Express provides statistics on U.S. merchandise trade at the national and state levels.
US Diplomatic Missions
In addition, the US government maintains diplomatic services in countries around the world. Here is a link to the various US embassies arranged by broad region: http://www.usembassy.gov/
If you wish to select a specific country from the list displayed, please look for links such as "Trade and Commerce" or "Doing Business with.." or other similar business-related links.
Similarly, a significant number of countries have diplomatic missions to the US and maintain their own embassies in the USA. Search for these embassy sites for countries of interest and review them for information about doing business in that country. Here is a link to “Web sites of foreign embassies in the United States” mounted by the US State Department: http://www.state.gov/s/cpr/rls/dpl/32122.htm.
Look for links to ‘commercial services’ or other sections similarly worded. Here, for example, is the link to the Chinese Embassy in the US/Economic and Commercial Section:
http://us2.mofcom.gov.cn/index.shtml
US Chambers of Commerce
Finally US Chambers of Commerce maintain offices abroad and can be a substantial source of in-country information for businesses and business-owners. Here is a link the the Chamber offices directory: https://www.uschamber.com/
Business Etiquette sites
International Business Etiquette and Manners -- See http://www.cyborlink.com/
You can also search the Internet by searching for business etiquette by country, such as "business etiquete chile" or "business etiquette china"
