This course will cover how to use trade information for investigative reporting, from the theory behind commercial flows to its application to real investigative cases. The first part of the course will focus on the “dictionary” that is crucial to read and interpret trade data. Then, it will explore how to source official customs statistics for free, understand crucial variables in import-export sheets, and find workarounds to expensive third-party commercial providers.

Examples from real investigations will show the power of using trade data in covering topics such as sanctions evasion, the military industry, cocaine trafficking but also much more “ordinary” commercial flows. Throughout the session, participants will be guided in several hands-on exercises to familiarise them with finding and understanding these kind of data.