What does an international trade analyst do?

University courses Politics
1

An international trade analyst is someone who applies knowledge of economics, trade, international economics, to support, assist with and inform decisions on the conduct of trade. So what could you expect to do as an international trade analyst?

  • Applying economic principles, including statistical, mathematical and econometric methods to analyse shifts and fluctuations in global markets; this quantifies changes in trade

  • Communicate and corroborate with others on how changes in global trade and the various factors that affect it, affect the organisation and stakeholders at a larger scale and in the short, immediate and long term

  • Also involved in regulatory compliance as you’d be monitoring changes in import/export regulations, laws concerning trade, etc, all of which may affect trade and would require changes in trade policy and procedures

  • Monitoring how geopolitical developments affect trade, this is as various geopolitical developments can have a serious potential to affect and possibly even disrupt trade, therefore it is important to constantly stay up to date with such developments and critically analyse how they may affect trade

  • Informing supply chain management strategies, as changes in trade will likely necessitate dynamic changes to the supply chains, in order to ensure constant supply chain resilience

  • Negotiation of trade agreements and contracts requires using existing data, knowledge of current market developments and aligning with your organisation’s interests, to find the most optimal trade agreements

5 Likes
2

Being an international trade analyst sounds like a dynamic role! How do you stay updated on geopolitical developments, and have you ever had to navigate any unexpected disruptions in the trade landscape?

2 Likes
3

For staying updated on geopolitical developments, you’d want to keep a watchful eye on news sources, Reddit, X, Facebook, etc, to get the general gist of events. At the same time there are also AI and data analytics driven enterprise software offered by companies such as RANE, Silobreaker, Kroll, etc, which do a lot of work and can analyse a lot more efficiently from a wide range of sources. And no, sorry, personally I haven’t been involved in any such trade disruptions, although it is something I wouldn’t mind doing in the future.

2 Likes
4

This is a career path that I am considering so this was very helpful. Thanks!

2 Likes
5

Sounds like a career path that demands you possessing a well-rounded, analytical mindset. Sounds quite stressful, ngl😅

1 Like