The Italian Institute for Foreign Trade (I.C.E., Istituto nazionale per il Commercio Estero) is the Italian government agency entrusted with the promotion of trade, business opportunities and industrial co-operation between Italian and foreign companies. It supports the internationalisation of Italian firms and their consolidation in foreign markets. The Italian Institute for Foreign Trade's activities are financed by public and private funds from:
the Ministry of Productive Activities, which establishes directives and has a supervisory role;
the companies, which use its services for advice, information and assistance.
Getting to know the Italian market
through the ITALIAN INSTITUTE FOR FOREIGN TRADE
information service
The acquisition of information about the Italian market and business opportunities is the first step foreign companies must take in order to select areas and forms of intervention in Italy. The Italian Institute for Foreign Trade, with its network of 104 offices in 80 countries around the world, can provide information and assistance to all those foreign companies that wish to develop business with their Italian counterpart.
In particular the Italian Institute for Foreign Trade provides:
the Italian economic outlook (an overview of the fundamentals of the Italian economy), information on Italian foreign trade and national trade policies.
Another very important task which the Italian Institute for Foreign Trade aims to achieve is to provide the most up-to-date information on Italian laws and regulations to attract foreign investments and give assistance to foreign investors.
Another way to get in touch with Italian partners is to consult the specialized website dedicated to the major sectors of Italian production. The Italian Institute for Foreign Trade is therefore working on an official directory of Italian companies, which is accessible both by sector and geographical market of interest.
The Italian Institute for Foreign Trade gathers offers and requests coming from foreign companies interested in developing business with Italian partners. All submitted requests and offers are stored in a database that can be accessed by sector and market enabling Italian companies to consider the various proposals.
Foreign companies can also find details of trade fairs and exhibitions held in Italy throughout the year. |