ICC makes it easier for businesses to trade internationally. Everything we do on behalf of business drives a more peaceful, sustainable and prosperous future for all.
Goods and services are produced and traded on a daily basis encompassing small, medium, large and multinational enterprises – affecting billions of lives in every corner of the world.
Trade is a driver of an increasingly integrated world economy, challenged and motivated by rapidly accelerating transformations. Representing more than 45 million enterprises in over 170 countries gives ICC distinctive expertise in promoting business priorities that are also solutions to critical areas of shared purpose that directly impact society.
The global trade system is straining under rising protectionism and deepening fragmentation. ICC is working to ensure the multilateral trading system remains credible, predictable and fit for today’s economy.
Trade finance keeps global commerce moving by managing risks and securing the flow of capital and goods. ICC sets the global standards that make this system work, enabling banks and companies to trade with trust, efficiency and resilience.
Efficient customs procedures are essential to global trade. ICC works with customs and logistics experts across to promote simplified, modern customs policies and practical trade facilitation measures.
Digital trade is transforming supply chains. ICC is accelerating this shift so that businesses can move goods and data both faster and more securely.
Maritime piracy and armed robbery endangers seafarers and disrupts vital trade routes. Through its International Maritime Bureau, ICC delivers real-time reporting and trusted alerts that help protect crews and keep trade moving.
In light of the conflict in the Middle East, ICC clarifies how existing trade finance rules continue to apply, recalling relevant provisions on document delays, force majeure and electronic presentation under ICC frameworks.
The Model Law on Electronic Transferable Records (MLETR) is a focal point for enabling digital trade, and its adoption by nations is a critical step in legalising the use of electronic records in trade. This ICC guide offers a simple introduction to MLETR, its implementation, and its impacts on trade and trade finance.
The ICC International Maritime Bureau (IMB) reported a sharp fall in global maritime piracy and armed robbery incidents in the first quarter of 2026, with just 16 incidents recorded worldwide – the lowest first quarter figure since 1991. While the decline highlights the positive impact of sustained cooperation and enforcement efforts, risks to seafarers remain. IMB continues to urge vigilance, timely reporting and strict adherence to best management practices to help safeguard crews and protect vital maritime trade routes.
ICC Ecoterms® on Circular Economy is a business-to-business resource that provides common definitions for 16 of the most widely used circular economy terms in global trade. It supports consistent interpretation of regulatory requirements, clearer communication on sustainability terms, and the scaling of circular economy models across global value chains.
A new UN tax model provision risks triggering an estimated US$241 million in annual government revenue losses for the Global South. Any revenue gains from the new provisions would be fully offset, resulting in a net fiscal loss. This independent Oxford Economics report, commissioned by ICC, is the first quantitative assessment of the potential economic and fiscal impacts of the new Article 12AA on cross-border services.
Highest number of reported incidents in the Singapore Straits, Somali piracy threat contained by naval presence.
From reducing costs to enhancing productivity, artificial intelligence (AI) is reshaping global trade and creating new opportunities for companies of all sizes and geographical locations to expand their reach in the global economy. But while AI offers the promise of levelling the playing field – particularly for small firms in developing economies – it could just as easily risk deepening existing divides if barriers to inclusive adoption are not addressed, this joint survey by ICC and the World Trade Organization identifies.
Prevailing trade tensions and eroding trust in the rules-based multilateral trading system pose a serious threat to shared prosperity. Developed through extensive global consultations, the ICC Compact for Trade, Growth and Jobs sets out practical solutions – from quick wins for immediate implementation to more ambitious, longer-term reforms – that governments and businesses can take to address persistent trade challenges and unlock global trading potential. As the backbone of the global economy, the Compact places particular emphasis on the barriers faced and solutions needed to support small- and medium-sized enterprises in cross-border trade.
The full value of the World Trade Organization (WTO) rarely makes headlines. But in reality, it is a cornerstone of national competitiveness. Its agreements, daily technical work and tools quietly make the trading system work day to day for businesses. These practical benefits are often unseen, but essential for every economy.
As momentum builds for collective climate and environmental action, understanding how companies can collaborate responsibly for sustainability purposes is moving to the centre of policy debates. This guide provides direction for businesses seeking to align sustainability cooperation with competition compliance.
ICC announced that Standard Chartered has adopted the full suite of the ICC Principles for Sustainable Trade Finance (PSTF), marking a significant step toward greater consistency, transparency and scalability in sustainable trade finance.
Senior policymakers and business leaders met in Brussels this week to advance practical pathways for strengthening the global trading system. Building on earlier regional engagements in Singapore, Dubai, and Mexico City, the Brussels dialogue focused on how Europe can help move the global trade agenda from discussion to delivery at a moment of heightened geopolitical and economic uncertainty.
The International Chamber of Commerce has welcomed a joint statement issued by 23 World Trade Organization (WTO) Members committing to maintain the practice of not imposing customs duties on electronic transmissions among themselves. The move follows the failure to extend or make permanent the e-commerce moratorium at the 14th WTO Ministerial Conference (MC14).
Following the close of the World Trade Organization's 14th Ministerial Conference, ICC has issued a statement expressing concern at the failure of WTO Members to reach a concrete political agreement at a time of real strain on the global economy.
At the World Trade Organization’s (WTO) 14th Ministerial Conference, ICC Secretary General John W.H. Denton AO presented WTO Director‑General Ngozi Okonjo‑Iweala with a Global Business Statement on behalf of 236 business organisations worldwide. The statement calls for a time‑bound WTO reform process and the renewal of the e‑Commerce Moratorium, underscoring the urgency felt across the global business community for a well‑functioning multilateral trading system that meets the realities of the 21st century.
Delivering remarks to participants of the ICC-World Trade Organization Business Forum, ICC Secretary General John W.H. Denton AO called on governments to act decisively, warning that inaction at this pivotal moment could deepen economic instability and erode the foundations of global trade. Speaking alongside WTO Director General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and Cameroon Minister of Trade Luc Magloire Mbarga Atangana Mr Denton said that doing nothing at MC14 would not preserve the status quo but entrench dysfunction.
At a business forum co-hosted by the International Chamber of Commerce and the World Trade Organization on the eve of the WTO’s 14th Ministerial Conference (MC14) in Yaoundé, business leaders called on ministers to deliver practical outcomes in response to the mounting pressures on the global trading system.
ICC is among over over 100 business associations calling on World Trade Organization (WTO) Members to make the Moratorium on Customs Duties on Electronic Transmissions permanent. An accompanying report, released ahead of MC14, details how the Moratorium underpins global digital trade, lowers costs for businesses and enables MSMEs to participate in the digital economy.
Thai e-commerce services company Brandnista helps micro-, small- and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) establish online businesses and participate in the digital economy. For its founder, Worawut Saibua, digital tools are not only essential to his own operations but also to the broader MSMEs ecosystem his business supports. If the WTO e-Commerce Moratorium were to lapse, new tariffs on cross-border digital trade could raise operating costs for MSMEs, increase consumer prices and slow digital adoption.
Self-certification of origin has become the default proof of origin in many modern Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) – valued by businesses for cutting cost and paperwork. But as origin procedures evolve and become more digitised, the ‘statement on origin’ is also changing: new templates, additional data fields and, in some cases, extra steps that can affect lead times and the information companies must share. Trade expert Anna Jerzewska explains what this shift means in practice for British and European exporters – particularly as agreements inspired by the CPTPP model add complexity, and as India introduces ‘authentication’ mechanisms that may need to be completed before goods are shipped.
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