The Italian Trade Agency (also ITA, in Italian: ) is a government agency of the

Italian Republic Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

whose purpose is to promote foreign trade and Italy's exports. It was established in 1926 with the ''Decreto reale'' n. 800 with the name of INE (''Istituto nazionale per le esportazioni'', "National Institute for Exports") and had the main task of "promoting the development of

exports An export in international trade is a good produced in one country that is sold into another country or a service provided in one country for a national or resident of another country. The seller of such goods or the service provider is an ...

of products coming from the Italian soil and industry". In 1935, the institute also developed specific skills in the field of

imports An import is the receiving country in an export from the sending country. Importation and exportation are the defining financial transactions of international trade. In international trade, the importation and exportation of goods are limited ...

by changing its name to ''Istituto nazionale per gli scambi con l'estero'' ("National Institute for Foreign Trade"). Subsequently, in 1945 it took the name ''ICE - Istituto nazionale per il commercio estero''. In July 2011, the ICE was abolished and shortly after in December 2011 it was reconstituted in the form of government agency with the name "ICE - Agency for the promotion abroad and internationalization of Italian companies" (''ICE - Agenzia per la promozione all'estero e l'internazionalizzazione delle imprese italiane''). After about 12 months of transitional management, from 1 January 2013 the new ICE Agency has been operational to support Italian exports and

investments Investment is the dedication of money to purchase of an asset to attain an increase in value over a period of time. Investment requires a sacrifice of some present asset, such as time, money, or effort. In finance, the purpose of investing is ...

around the world and to encourage foreign investments in

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

. Outside Italy, it's best known as the Italian Trade Agency (ITA).

The current structure of ITA

Starting from 1 January 2015, ITA owns about 64 offices worldwide, in close collaboration with the diplomatic-consular network and with the Italian chambers of commerce located abroad. Current president and general manager are Carlo Ferro and Roberto Luongo respectively. Former president and general manager0 were Michele Scannavini and Piergiorgio Borgogelli.; while they are currently Carlo Ferro and Roberto Luongo.

''CorCE''

ITA is also known for its course focused on foreign trade and called ''CorCE'' (''Corso di specializzazione in Commercio Estero'', "Specialization Course in Foreign Trade"). CorCE first started in October 1962, with the first forty scholarships awarded by public tender and today it is a master's program for the internationalization of companies.{{Cite web, url=http://www.exportraining.ice.it/it/attivita-e-servizi/lista-corsi/380-master-per-l-internazionalizzazione-delle-imprese-53%C2%B0-corce-fausto-de-franceschi.html, title=Master per l'internazionalizzazione delle imprese 53° CORCE Fausto De Franceschi, first=Irene, last=Celauro, website=www.exportraining.ice.it

The current structure of ITA

''CorCE''

References

See also