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TPOs are typically governmental agencies. Based on a survey of 88 TPOs worldwide, Lederman et al.
(2009) show that, in most cases (62%), these are semi-autonomous entities reporting to a Ministry or the
Office of the President or the Prime Minister. In a significant number of cases (23%) these agencies are
sub-units of a Ministry and therefore subject to government hiring regulations. On the other hand, only
10% of the agencies surveyed are fully private and an even smaller share (5%) are joint public-private
entities.
Even though an organisation to promote trade needs not be a governmental agency, and it is also possible
for a government to directly support firms, the creation of a government-related but autonomous agency
presents some advantages:
i. it is difficult for private firms to establish and maintain a worldwide network, while a
governmental organization can sustain it;
ii. similarly, a governmental organization can establish and maintain a diffused network of regional
domestic offices;
iii. local market information can be reflected in policy measures;
iv. the direct relationship between the government and a governmental organization enables the
organization to provide feedback to the process of policy design, implementation and assessment,
based on a large number of cases of trade promotion;
v. a governmental organization can more easily establish relationships with foreign governments;
and
vi. a dedicated organisation independent from government can focus on international issues and
enhance the quality of support to firms.
Despite these advantages, governmental TPOs have been the object of criticism by many analysts and
practitioners. In the early 2000s, a policy note by the World Bank highlighted that only a few had made
valuable contributions to the export performance of their sponsoring countries and called for a
revitalisation of these agencies (De Wulf, 2001). In more detail, the evaluation pointed at the following
areas for improving TPOs’ performance:
 Promote incentives favourable to exports. TPOs can overcome some bias against exports but
cannot operate efficiently in the face of a strongly adverse environment, with an export bias that
may stem from an overvalued exchange rate, tariff and non-tariff barriers, costly infrastructure
services and excessive red tape.
 Seek autonomous operations. TPOs should be flexible and autonomous institutions that operate
with top political support but also ensure links with public and private actors, based on mutual
trust with the business community. TPOs should be able to influence policies and deliver quickly
the resources and services when and where they are needed.
 Support a demand-driven strategy. TPOs should include in their boards private sector
representatives, to ensure they play an important role in defining, implementing and monitoring
the organisation’s strategy.
 Strike a balance between offshore and onshore objectives. TPOs have traditionally focused on
offshore activities, such as collection of information, market research, trade representation and
trade fairs. TPOs should complement these traditional activities with attention on the supply
conditions in the home country, advocating for instance well-targeted enterprise support to
potential exporters facing local bottlenecks.
 Ensure quality staffing. Proper staffing is crucial for delivering good quality services. TPOs
should have autonomy in setting recruitment standards, draw on expertise from external
consultants and expose staff to commercial practices and private sector concerns through
appropriate training.
 Provide adequate funding. TPOs should be sustainable agencies. Donor financing can be useful
in the early stages, but it should be followed by adequate domestic resources and fee revenues,