Trade Directory

Curated directory of authoritative trade data, policy, shipping, and news sites. There is NO single 'world-leading' trade hub comparable to Bloomberg for finance — trade information is structurally fragmented across statistics / policy / shipping / news layers. Tier 0 link aggregator: just discoverable URLs with brief descriptions + honest pricing labels.

Honest scope: Links to third-party sites. We do NOT host, mirror, moderate, or endorse their content. The 'paid' pricing label means the LINKED DESTINATION charges users (Bloomberg / Kpler / FT etc.) — WIC itself remains free with no login, no paywall, no affiliate, no IB commission. URLs may change or sites may shut down. We do NOT provide investment or trade advice.

7 stats + 4 policy + 4 shipping + 6 premium + 5 news + 4 JP + 7 customs = 37 trade sources

Pricing legend (destination paywall, NOT WIC): free free (reg.) freemium paid

📊 Official Trade Statistics

Authoritative raw bilateral / multilateral trade data. UN Comtrade is the de-facto standard. Updates are typically MONTHLY with 1–3 month lag — NOT real-time.

UN Comtrade [en] free
UN International Trade Statistics Database — bilateral country × commodity flows since 1962. Free JSON API. Gold standard for raw stats.
WITS (World Bank) [en] free (reg.)
World Integrated Trade Solution — UN Comtrade + tariff data + market access indicators. Free with registration.
ITC Trade Map [multi] free (reg.)
WTO/UN joint agency. Country × product trade flow visualization with maps and time series. Free with registration.
IMF DOTS [en] free
IMF Direction of Trade Statistics — quarterly/annual bilateral trade flows for ~190 economies. Free.
OECD Trade Statistics [en] free
OECD member-country trade datasets including value-added trade (TiVA) and services trade.
World Bank WDI [en] free
World Development Indicators — annual exports/imports as % of GDP for ~200 economies. Free JSON API (already used by WIC).
Eurostat International Trade [multi] free
Official EU trade statistics — monthly trade in goods + services data for EU member states + partners.

📜 Trade Policy & Rules

WTO + Global Trade Alert + tariff databases. Global Trade Alert is the closest free near-real-time intervention monitor.

WTO News & Trade Monitoring [multi] free
World Trade Organization news + Trade Monitoring reports + dispute settlement updates. Official source for multilateral trade rules.
Global Trade Alert [en] free
Independent monitor of trade-policy interventions worldwide — tariffs, subsidies, sanctions logged daily. RSS feed available.
WTO Tariff Data [en] free
WTO Tariff Analysis Online — bound, applied, and MFN tariff schedules by country × product.
WTO Disputes [multi] free
WTO Dispute Settlement database — all current and historical trade disputes between member states.

🚢 Shipping Real-time (Free)

AIS-based ship tracking — the only free public source of trade-flow real-time information. Free tiers have rate limits; historical replay typically requires paid plan.

MarineTraffic [multi] freemium
Real-time AIS ship tracking — vessel positions, port calls, arrivals/departures. Free tier limited; premium for historical replay.
VesselFinder [multi] freemium
AIS vessel tracking competitor to MarineTraffic — live map + port congestion + voyage history.
FleetMon [multi] freemium
Real-time AIS + port stats + vessel database. Free tier for spot checks; premium for fleet management.
PortCalls (UNCTAD) [multi] free
UNCTAD official port-call statistics derived from AIS — port performance + median time in port + container vessel calls.

💰 Premium Real-time (Paid)

Commodity flow + customs records intelligence. Industry standard for trading desks, but enterprise pricing — NOT individual-investor accessible.

Kpler [en] paid
Commodity flow intelligence — oil, LNG, dry bulk, container real-time tracking. Industry standard for trading desks. Enterprise pricing.
Lloyd's List Intelligence [en] paid
300-year-old maritime intelligence service — vessel data, sanctions screening, port intelligence. Enterprise pricing.
S&P Global Commodity Insights [en] paid
Platts price assessments + Market Intelligence — benchmark for energy + metals trading. Enterprise pricing.
Panjiva (S&P Global) [en] paid
B2B trade intelligence from US Customs records + 50+ countries — who ships what to whom. Enterprise pricing.
ImportGenius [en] paid
US Customs bill-of-lading data + global import/export records. Subscription per seat.
Bloomberg Terminal (Trade) [en] paid
Bloomberg Terminal trade analytics — commodity flows, vessel data, customs records integrated with markets. ~$25k/year/seat.

📰 Trade News

Reuters + FT + Nikkei Asia + free shipping wires. Mix of free + paywall.

Reuters Trade [en] freemium
Reuters world business + trade coverage — fastest free-tier authoritative wire news. Daily updates.
FT Trade Secrets [en] paid
Financial Times trade newsletter — policy + supply-chain analysis. Subscription required (~£40/month).
Nikkei Asia [en] freemium
Asia-Pacific trade + business news in English. Free tier for ~10 articles/month; subscription for full access.
Hellenic Shipping News [en] free
Free daily shipping news aggregator — vessel markets, ports, regulation, commodities. No paywall.
gCaptain [en] free
Maritime news + analysis — accidents, regulation, industry events. Free with display ads.

🇯🇵 Japan-focused

JETRO is the Japanese government's external trade promotion agency. Useful for Japan-context — NOT a global trade hub. METI + Japan Customs provide official primary data.

JETRO (日本貿易振興機構) [multi] free
Japan External Trade Organization — official agency for Japanese export support + foreign investment into Japan. Daily Biz news + country market reports. Note: Japan-focused, NOT a global trade hub.
METI 通商白書 [ja] free
Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry — annual Trade White Paper + monthly trade policy briefings.
財務省貿易統計 [ja] free
Japan Customs trade statistics — monthly exports/imports by HS code × country, official primary source.
JFTC (日本貿易会) [ja] free
Japan Foreign Trade Council — sogo shosha (general trading companies) industry association. Policy positions + industry stats.

🌏 Country-specific Customs & Trade Agencies

Official primary sources for each major economy. Direct access to government-issued trade policy + statistics.

USTR (US Trade Representative) [en] free
US Trade Representative — US trade policy, FTA negotiations, Section 301 tariff actions. Official source for US trade stance.
USITC DataWeb [en] free
US International Trade Commission — official US trade flow database (HS-10 level granularity, 1989–).
US CBP (Customs and Border Protection) [en] free
US Customs trade operations — import requirements, rulings, ACE portal for trade entries.
China Customs [multi] free
General Administration of Customs of China — official China monthly trade statistics in English + Chinese.
MOFCOM (中国商務部) [multi] free
Ministry of Commerce of China — China trade policy, FDI, FTAs. Official source for Chinese trade stance.
EU DG Trade [multi] free
European Commission Directorate-General for Trade — EU trade policy, FTAs, anti-dumping investigations.
UK Department for Business and Trade [en] free
UK government trade and business policy department. Free Trade Agreement progress + market access reports.