Trade & Investment

Promoting Trade and Investment

The defining purpose of the International Trade Administration (ITA) is helping to create economic opportunity for American workers and businesses. By promoting trade and investment we are promoting prosperity and a better world.

To increase trade and investment, ITA helps U.S. companies navigate foreign markets. We help educate companies about how to tailor their activities to the specific market with respect to their product slate, financing, marketing, assembly and logistics. While the United States exports more than any other country, making that first export can still be a daunting challenge for a small or medium sized business. ITA helps equip those businesses with the knowledge and tools that they need to meet that exporting challenge, and by extension, promote the trade and investment that helps us all.

The U.S. Commercial Service is the trade promotion arm of the U.S. Department of Commerce's ITA. The Commercial Service has 108 offices located throughout the country and 150 around the world, covering 96 percent of U.S. export markets. Its Web-based services are provided through the U.S. government's export portal, export.gov. At export.gov you can locate the U.S. Export Assistance Center nearest you or call 1-800-USA-TRAD(E) (1-800-872-8723).