chamber of commerce

Chamber of Commerce

an organization which operates primarily to serve the needs of the business community in an industrial city or area. Chambers of Commerce provide a forum for local businessmen and traders to discuss matters of mutual interest and provide a range of services to their members, especially small businesses, including, for example in the UK, information on business opportunities locally and nationally and, in conjunction with the DEPARTMENT OF TRADE AND INDUSTRY, export advisory services, export market intelligence, participation in overseas visits and trade fairs, and the issue of CERTIFICATES OF ORIGIN. In recent years, a particular concern of many chambers has been the provision of training facilities and centres, run either independently or in conjunction with the government's LEARNING AND SKILLS COUNCILS. At the national level the movement is represented by the Association of British Chambers of Commerce. See EXPORTING, TRAINING.

Collins Dictionary of Business, 3rd ed. © 2002, 2005 C Pass, B Lowes, A Pendleton, L Chadwick, D O’Reilly and M Afferson

chamber of commerce

an organization that operates primarily to serve the needs of the business community in an industrial city or area. Chambers of commerce provide a forum for local businessmen and traders to discuss matters of mutual interest and provide a range of services to their members, especially small businesses, including, for example, in the UK, information on business opportunities locally and nationally and, in conjunction with the DEPARTMENT OF TRADE AND INDUSTRY, export advisory services, export market intelligence, etc. See also BUSINESS LINK.

Collins Dictionary of Economics, 4th ed. © C. Pass, B. Lowes, L. Davies 2005