Since its humble beginnings in 1983 as a local consumer-advocacy group of 75 activists situated in villages in India, CUTS has grown into an international champion of stakeholder empowerment. Going beyond traditional consumer organizations CUTS empowers citizens economically, politically and socially to become involved in and influence economic governance from the local to the international level.

Dedicated to consumer concerns and India's development policies at first, the thematic scope of CUTS' activities expanded as new issues impacting consumer welfare emerged. For example, privatisation efforts in developing countries and the Uruguay Round of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) in the early 90s triggered CUTS' engagement in these processes.

The establishment of CUTS International, Geneva in 2008 was the fulfillment of the dream of Pradeep S Mehta, Secretary General of Consumer Unity & Trust Society (CUTS), to have a credible pro-trade, pro-equity Southern NGO voice in Geneva. CUTS International, Geneva links the national CUTS organizations to the centre of multilateral trade and other international economic policy debates and negotiations, effectively connecting grassroots with policy makers at the international level.

Today CUTS' work and expertise spans five functional areas:

• International trade and development
• Competition, investment and economic regulation
• Consumer safety
• Human development
• Consumer protection and good governance

We and our sister CUTS organizations in India, Kenya, Zambia, Vietnam, and Ghana have made our footprints in the realm of economic governance across the developing world. Our activities stretch from Asia to Africa, South America and beyond.