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INTERNATIONAL TRADE, exchange of goods and services between people and firms different countries. For several millennia, since the dawn of civilizations, the export of goods to foreign countries in exchange for foreign goods has been an integral feature of the world economy. In the 19th century the rapid growth of production and the development of means of transport and communication led to a huge expansion of the scope foreign trade and increase its volume. However, for most of the 20th century there was a downward trend in the share of goods and services crossing borders in total world output.

Mercantilism.

The first attempts to analyze international trade were made in the 16th and 17th centuries. mercantilists, who believed that the total world supply of "factors of production" - land (including raw materials), labor and capital - is more or less constant. From this assumption, it was concluded that the interests of individual states, regions and cities are diametrically opposed, since the benefits for one of them mean losses for the other. In this regard, each country was encouraged to accumulate factors of production, especially gold and silver. The mercantilists were convinced that a country's stock of precious metals represented its real wealth, so they believed that a properly organized foreign trade existed solely to increase this stock.

classical school.

By the middle of the 18th century, however, the population, the volume of supplies of raw materials and materials, the total investment capital, and the volume of production had increased sharply. This means that the main premise from which the mercantilists proceeded turned out to be wrong. Economists have ceased to see the interests of various countries as incompatible, and have come to the conclusion that the real wealth of nations is determined not so much by the reserves of gold and silver as by the ability to produce goods and services. Many economists (and later many statesmen) came to the conclusion that if each country devoted itself exclusively to the production of those goods that it could produce at the lowest cost, all countries would have an "absolute advantage", since more goods would be produced with less cost. The direction of international commodity flows, like the direction of movement of goods in domestic markets, must be determined by prices, since each buyer tends to shop in the cheapest market at home or abroad. The greatest and most influential exponent of such views was Adam Smith, the British economist, who in 1776 published the famous An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations.

However, the question arises: why can one country produce any particular good at a lower cost than another? In 1817, Smith's most prominent follower, David Ricardo, published The beginnings of political economy and taxation in which he tried to answer this question. Ricardo (following Smith) suggested that ultimately the value of a product is determined (with numerous reservations) by the amount of human labor embodied in it. For example, an item made in 10 hours should be (on average) twice as expensive as an item made in 5 hours. Labor productivity is higher in some countries than in others. Where it is higher, goods are cheaper than in places where labor is used less productively. Moreover, almost universally, labor in some industries is more productive than in others. Ricardo (in his "comparative cost theorem") argued that each country is able to maximize the benefits of international trade if it specializes in exporting the goods it produces most efficiently and imports the goods whose production is inefficient for it.

postclassical theories.

Ricardo's theory takes into account only the supply of goods by producing countries; "effective demand", i.e. demand backed by money, or purchasing power, is left out of the analysis. In addition, this theory is built on only one factor of production - labor. Effective demand was included in the analysis of international trade later in the 19th century by John Stuart Mill and Alfred Marshall. Obviously, the exchange of goods between countries cannot take place if the importing countries do not need to import. No less obvious is the fact that international trade is impossible if the exporting countries are not interested in imports. A country must pay for its imports with the money it earns from exporting its own products, or its reserves of precious metals and foreign exchange will quickly run out. Thus, a country's purchase of imported goods helps other countries to buy that country's exports.

After the First World War, two Swedish economists, Eli Heckscher and Bertil Ohlin, proposed their theory, which expanded the understanding of international trade by including in the analysis the two factors of production - labor and capital. In this theory, capital refers to money invested in buildings, structures, machinery and equipment. In different production processes, the ratio between these costs and labor costs varies considerably. Manufacturing processes, in which the share of means of production compared to the share of living labor is relatively large, are called capital-intensive. It is quite natural that production processes in different countries differ in terms of capital intensity. Heckscher and Ohlin suggested that countries that use relatively more capital than human labor (such as the United States) have a comparative advantage in the production and export of capital-intensive products. However, in 1953, the American economist of Russian origin Wassily Leontiev showed that products exported from the USA (unlike American production in general) are less capital-intensive compared to goods imported into the USA (the so-called "Leontief's paradox").

Mass production.

One way or another, capital-intensive production usually means mass production, which can only exist if there is a sufficiently stable effective demand for products produced in in large numbers products. Staffan Lindner argued that countries export precisely those goods whose domestic (national) markets have a large capacity. Such markets guarantee the manufacturer sufficiently large sales volumes that make the mechanization of production cost-effective; exports, which are not very stable, usually do not provide such a guarantee. AT modern production the share of expenditures on research and development is very significant, so it is advisable to spread these costs over a larger number of units of production. The economies of scale achieved as a result of mass production are called economies of scale.

Developed and developing economies.

Economies of scale are usually achieved in those countries that first began to manufacture a given product, accumulated the most great experience in its production and formed the most capacious market for it. This means that in different countries economies of scale are realized in the production of various goods, and this fact partly helps to explain the specialization of the national economies of developed countries. Since such countries tend to produce goods at the lowest cost, the share of trade between them in total world trade is very high.

In contrast, exports from developing countries to industrialized countries consist predominantly of primary products such as raw materials, fuels, tropical fruits and beverages. Exporting countries of this type can consume only a small part of their own primary products on their own, their international trade is often referred to as "surplus disposal".

Benefits from trade.

All theories of trade are based on the assumption that the direction of international commodity flows is determined by prices, since each buyer seeks to obtain the goods he needs with least cost. Although the theory of prices really provides only an incomplete explanation of the real mechanism of international trade, it is quite sufficient for understanding the "benefits of trade".

The key here is the concept of resource allocation efficiency. In national markets, prices set by different producers tend to equalize under the influence of competition; none of the sellers can significantly increase the price compared to others without losing buyers. Manufacturers have to increase their profits by reducing production costs, i.e. more efficient use of resources. The most efficient producer should have the lowest costs, the most low prices and, as a result, the largest volume of sales and the largest income. Thus, competition promotes the efficiency of resource allocation by redistributing factors of production in favor of efficient producers who have more money to cover costs and which defeat inefficient producers in the struggle for factors of production.

The benefits of international trade stem from the expansion of the effective distribution of resources beyond the borders of individual states. The countries of the world tend to sell national products abroad and buy goods in other countries for the same reason that individuals sell and buy something instead of trying to produce everything themselves. The shoemaker could make his own food and clothes, but it is easy for him to calculate that by making only shoes and exchanging them for other goods also made by masters of his craft, he will ultimately receive more food and clothes than if he made everything himself. .

Benefit from foreign trade is based on the same principle: there is a difference between the hypothetical costs of producing a given product at home and the actual costs of producing goods exported to pay for it. For example, in one country, a ton of sugar can be produced at a cost of $50. If this ton came from abroad, it would have to be paid for by the corresponding amount of its goods. Assume that the cost of producing these goods is $30. Then the profit from trading per ton of sugar will be $20.

Terms of trade.

However, such a direct calculation of trade gains is generally not possible. A country is often dependent on imports of a good that it does not produce at all, or produces in very small quantities, so that no one knows what it will cost to produce it nationally in the required quantities. In addition, there are goods that the country cannot produce at all. Nevertheless, the analysis of the terms of trade allows us to determine some indicators of the profitability of foreign trade. The best known of these indicators is the "terms of trade at the unit price", which compares changes in the unit price of exported goods with changes in the unit price of imported goods. At the same time, the country is able to lower the unit price of the exported product, sell it in larger quantities and, as a result, import more goods. Therefore, the best indicator of the profitability of trade is the change in total imports that can be paid for by a country's total exports, or "terms of trade on income".

Limitations of the price theory.

Practice shows that prices do not completely determine the flow of goods and services. In a single market where goods and services move freely from one place to another, competition equalizes prices and the most efficient producers win. However, international markets are far from being as integrated as national ones. One of the factors of production, labor (or labor force), is generally characterized by low mobility, except in special circumstances; similar restrictions apply, although to a lesser extent, to capital and raw materials. Finished products are much more mobile, however, they cannot move from country to country absolutely unhindered. Mobility restrictions are partly due to non-economic factors, but an equally important reason is that the share of international transport costs in the final price of goods is usually higher compared to domestic transport costs. Thus, even if the production of a product in a given country is more profitable than in other countries, this advantage may disappear as a result of high transportation costs.

Technology.

Even on perfect market buyers prefer the cheapest goods produced at the desired technological level and of the appropriate quality, and not just the cheapest goods. Therefore, it is very difficult to find a buyer for an ice box, although it is cheaper than a refrigerator; besides, some refrigerators work better than others. In some cases, a country may monopolize the skills and knowledge needed to produce a particular product; in other cases, a country enjoys a reputation for being a better producer of a particular product than its competitors. However, one country rarely manages to maintain a monopoly on technology for a long time; much more typical is the situation when technologies gradually spread around the world, thereby influencing the direction of trade flows.

trade and balance of payments.

The price systems of all countries participating in international trade are interconnected due to the need to pay expenses abroad at the expense of income received there. For most countries, this means that imports are paid for with funds generated from exports. As a result of the multilateral nature of trade, i.e. trade of one country with many other countries, a similar balance between exports and imports is required to be maintained not for individual pairs of countries, but between each country and the rest of the world.

A country's income from exports and its costs of paying for imports are reflected in the balance of trade. When revenues exceed expenditures, the trade balance is said to have a surplus; on the contrary, if expenditures exceed revenues, there is a trade deficit. The balance sheet also shows receipts from services sold abroad and payments for services received there, for example, payments for transport or insurance, transfers of funds, which are income from foreign investments. Some countries, such as the United Kingdom, typically spend more on imports than they earn on their own exports, but their merchandise trade deficits are offset by income from services rendered to foreigners and repatriation of profits from foreign investment. Other countries, however, such as Brazil, can sometimes earn more from their exports of goods than they spend on imports, but their merchandise trade surpluses only offset the deficit in trade in services and the repatriation of foreign profits. In addition to trade in goods and services, as well as the transfer of income from foreign investment, two other factors affect the country's balance of payments. These are, firstly, irrevocable transfers of funds, or gifts, when one state provides money to another or when people working abroad, for example, Turks in Germany, send part of their income to their families at home. The second and more common factor is capital transfers in the form of loans or investments. Some countries compensate for the deficit in trade in goods and services through loans and investments received from abroad. When a country experiences a balance of payments deficit, its reserves—the gold and foreign exchange reserves needed to pay for foreign purchases—are reduced; when a country's balance of payments is in surplus, its foreign exchange reserves increase.

The role of the state.

Foreign trade, as a rule, requires more government intervention than domestic trade. This interference can take various forms.

Currency.

What to do if a country has a balance of payments deficit for several years? One possible measure is that in most cases the importer has to pay for the purchased goods in foreign currency, which he first needs to buy. The state can help increase the volume of exports by intervening in the foreign exchange market, lowering the exchange rate of its own currency. Such devaluations of the national currency can also have a deterrent effect on imports. In addition, the state can directly control the volume of imports by restricting or even prohibiting the purchase of foreign currency.

Free trade and protectionism.

If the state interferes little in international trade, limiting itself to legal regulation and concern for gold and foreign exchange reserves, this is called a free trade policy. “Protectionism”, on the other hand, is an attempt by the state to restrict imports by making them more expensive as a result of introducing special taxes or duties called “tariffs”, imposing limits on the number of imported goods (“import quotas”) or regulating the exchange of national currency for foreign ones by various methods of “currency control."

Trade zones.

Sometimes states enter into special agreements on international trade. A "free trade zone" is a group of countries that have abolished all tariffs in trade among themselves, but have not adopted uniform tariffs in trade with backward countries. A "customs union" is a group of countries that have not only waived tariffs on trade among themselves, but also introduced a common tariff on other countries.

Both of these types of integration do promote trade if, as a result of the elimination of domestic tariffs, production within a given group of countries is redistributed to lower-cost suppliers. However, if cheaper suppliers from other countries are squeezed out of trade, simply because of the introduction of a common external tariff, the result of integration is only a redistribution of commodity flows. A customs union improves the efficiency of resource allocation and increases economies of scale, if these improvements were indeed hindered by the existence of tariffs in trade between the countries concerned. However, a customs union can also lead to a distortion of supply and demand for individual products. In addition, customs unions do not in themselves stimulate competition between producers within the union and do not contribute to the spread economic growth from one country to another.

MODERN WORLD TRADE

Trade structure.

International trade is dominated by the industrialized countries of North America and Western Europe, Japan, Israel, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. These countries account for a large part of the world's production of goods and services and a large part of the output of mass-produced goods.

About 80% of exports from industrialized countries go to the markets of other industrialized countries; more than 70% of exports from developing countries also go to the markets of developed countries.

Very large countries meet most of their needs through domestic production; volume of foreign trade compared with the volume of production in the United States and countries former USSR small. However, the influence of the United States on world trade is very significant due to the huge volume of production of goods and services. In countries with a medium population, such as the UK, France, Japan, Germany and Italy, the volume of foreign trade is from 10% to 20% of total production (ie the value of the gross national product); in small countries such as the Netherlands, Belgium, the Czech Republic and Hungary, this figure reaches 40%.

The volume of foreign trade of a developing country depends on whether it specializes in the export of a single commodity or tries to develop a diversified economy. Thus, Turkey, belonging to the second category of countries, exports only 5% of its total production. Most highly specialized countries export about half of their total production, and Saudi Arabia, which specializes in oil production, exports 80% of its oil. However, with the exception of specializing in the production of vital products such as oil, a country's dependence on the sale of a single product on the world market is associated with great risk. Despite this, there are several countries in the world whose economies are developing along this path.

Primary and processed products.

The share of primary products in the total value of world trade fell from 60% in 1913 to less than 40% in 1975. In 1993, 78% of world exports were manufactured products, 9% were mineral fuels and related materials, 9% were foodstuffs, beverages and tobacco and 4% raw materials (excluding energy). About a third of all primary products sold on the world market still come from industrialized countries. Some of the primary products traded internationally are highly standardized and are often categorized by type or quality. Such commodities can be bought and sold on the commodity exchanges in Chicago, London or New York without prior inspection and are somewhere along the way at the time of purchase and sale. Other goods, predominantly manufactured products, vary greatly in both quality and design. Since these products are not highly standardized, the price cannot be the main reference point for buyers.

Formation of trade flows.

Although international trade flows are influenced by prices, they are not determined solely by prices, and sometimes they are not affected by prices at all.

Colonialism.

From the end of the 15th century Western European countries began to seize vast territories in North and South America, Asia and Africa and rule them as colonies. Through such means as the famous English Navigation Act (1651), the colonial powers sought to secure exclusive or preemptive right to trade with their colonies. Such attempts rarely led to great success, and in the 19th century. they were gradually abandoned. Having achieved independence, the former colonies, naturally, began to pursue an independent trade policy. Nevertheless, they often continued to purchase products from their former mother countries. In some cases, the reason was the retention of currency blocks, such as the franc zone, which denied access to the currencies required to pay for goods from other regions. However, linguistic commonality played a role, and sometimes simply the lack of information about other sources of supply. The lack of information was gradually filled by the aggressive marketing policy of the manufacturers.

Foreign policy.

Its twists and turns can also influence the development of foreign trade. France, for example, had very close economic relations with Tsarist Russia on the eve of World War I, in which the two countries were allies against Germany. Tensions in diplomatic relations, for example between the US and the USSR from 1946 to 1990, as a rule, do not contribute to the development of trade.

Foreign investment.

When firms in one country invest in the economy of another country, or bankers in one country provide loans to borrowers in another country, this usually helps to establish closer contacts between the entrepreneurs of both countries and, therefore, the development of trade between them. The impact of foreign investment, however, is controversial, as many people, especially in developing countries, oppose the re-exportation of profits and capital.

multinational corporations.

The high costs of research and development, which have become in our time feature production of many industrial goods, usually contribute to the formation of large economic organizations. This trend has led to the emergence of multinational (or transnational) corporations, owning enterprises in several countries. Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, multinational corporations actively developed the international division of labor. They gained access to cheap human and natural resources by producing individual components of products in different countries. A significant part of the international trade of multinational corporations is internal trade between different branches of the same corporation. Multinational corporations operate all over the world, in both developed and developing countries.

It is often accused that the transfer prices set by multinational corporations, at which products are supplied from one subsidiary to another, are being manipulated in order to shift profits to countries with low tax rates. The movement of funds, accompanied by their transfer from currency to currency, is quite capable of raising or lowering exchange rates, and sometimes lead to a drop in the competitiveness of a country's goods or the depletion of its central bank reserves. In addition, by locating their enterprises in developing countries, multinational corporations incur accusations that they, on the one hand, contribute to the fall in employment in industrialized countries, and, on the other hand, exploit workers from Third World countries. Multinational corporations are also accused of political abuse, especially bribery. At the same time, by creating these problems, they undoubtedly contribute to the diffusion of technology and managerial skills and increase the level of employment in developing countries.

Monopolies.

Some products can only be obtained from a very limited number of sources. Monopolies of this kind create conditions for manipulating prices, but only within certain limits, since the rapid increase in the costs of consumers of the product stimulates the search for substitute goods. Such national monopolies may be based on natural conditions, such as exclusive ownership of certain mineral deposits or land of unusual fertility; however, some of them are based on technological expertise. International agreements naturally protect exclusive patent rights to inventions only for a limited period of time. However, it is often possible to maintain a technological monopoly due to the high costs of scientific research and, consequently, the need for mass production or mastery of a complex production process.

Producer cartels.

Even if companies from a number of countries export the same product, they are quite capable of organizing a group monopoly by joining in a cartel, provided that the products they produce are of high value and have no acceptable substitutes. The cartel may attempt to fix prices through an agreement between its members. Of all commodities, only gem-quality diamonds fully meet these criteria, so the only cartel of manufacturers that has succeeded in controlling prices is the diamond cartel, run by the giant South African firm De Beers Consolidated. In the 1970s, many accusations were made against the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) due to the sharp rise in oil prices, but the decline in prices in the 1980s showed the fallacy of popular beliefs.

economic blocks.

The structure of trade is also influenced by special arrangements between countries, such as agreements on free trade areas or customs and monetary unions. The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), formed in 1948, created a mechanism for holding consultations between industrialized countries. Fifteen Western European countries established stronger ties among themselves and in 1958 united to form the European Union (EU). The EU is more than just a customs union: it ensures the free movement of labor and capital and the pursuit of a common policy on many other economic issues. Ruled by a Brussels-based multinational commission, the EU has strong supranational and quasi-political features. In contrast, the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) has more limited goals.

In 1949, the socialist states (mainly European) created the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (CMEA). After it became clear that the small countries of Eastern Europe, especially Czechoslovakia and Hungary, which were heavily dependent on foreign trade, faced great difficulties in practically following the original Soviet doctrine of national economic independence, or "autarky", the importance of CMEA increased significantly. Many of the economic reforms carried out in the 1960s in the socialist countries were aimed at restoring normal foreign trade relations and "tying" domestic prices to world prices. CMEA could do little to achieve these goals, but it tried to plan the division of economic activity among member countries and introduce limited mutual convertibility of their national currencies. After the collapse of the communist regimes in the countries of Eastern Europe in 1989-1991, the existence of the CMEA lost its meaning, and in June 1991 it was dissolved.

The European example was followed by Latin American countries, which organized the Latin American Free Trade Association (LAST), later transformed into the Association for Latin American Integration (ALADI), and the small countries of the Caribbean, which established the Central American Common Market. However, it is far from clear that these two associations have been of great benefit to their members. For political reasons, institutionalized economic cooperation between several countries of East Africa - Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda - ended. with free trade zones and customs unions in the "third world" contacted big hopes to expand markets for the products of poor countries, which would enable them to develop new industries and take advantage of economies of scale. So far, however, these hopes have not materialized.

OBSTACLES TO TRADE

prerequisites for protectionism.

The idea that global trade is harming developing countries as a whole is rather dubious, as their ability to pay for imports with export earnings is steadily increasing. Of course, it can still be argued that the industrialized powers benefit more from international trade than the developing countries. However, this statement is not indisputable, since the most benefited from international trade are naturally considered to be those countries in which, without this trade, domestic prices would be significantly higher than world prices. As a rule, these are developing and small countries, because world prices are mainly determined by the domestic prices of large developed countries. In addition, trade is beneficial to countries with small economies due to its so-called. "demonstration effect": the population of these countries gets acquainted with new goods, and there is a desire to acquire them, and then produce them.

In addition, developing countries can immediately start issuing the most profitable goods using the latest methods, if they have sufficient capital and labor force with the appropriate qualifications. In the old industrial states, however, the products and methods of production that have become habitual turn into the fetters of progress. Workers here have largely lost the desire to change professions and the ability to quickly move to other regions, adapting to changing conditions. Japan was able to challenge the industrial dominance of the Western countries precisely because it did not suffer from their shortcomings. It started out with textiles and other low-cost products, but then moved on to electronics, boats, and cars.

Many industrialized countries, however, had to endure many difficulties in the process of transition from the production of obsolete and uncompetitive products to the development of the latest knowledge-intensive industries. In the end, such a transition, of course, took place. The process of updating a deprecated structure industrial production is usually extremely painful and causes long-term problems. Countries that make such changes in production as a matter of urgency and export cheap goods are often accused of "dumping," or selling goods at prices below the wholesale prices of their home markets, in order to undermine competition. (If such allegations are proved, the importing country has the right, in accordance with the anti-dumping code adopted in 1968, to impose special anti-dumping tariffs. However, allegations of dumping are usually disputed.) In reality, cheap goods from individual countries flooded the world market - textiles from Hong Kong, Taiwan , India, Pakistan, and South Korea, televisions and cars from Japan, or boats from South Korea—often indicate that these countries have genuine competitive advantages. However, such exports cause serious damage to traditional industries in other countries, threatening workers with the loss of jobs, and cities with a decrease in population.

protectionist measures.

Many countries try to restrict imports in order to protect domestic industries from competition. For this, numerous measures are used, which have different effects.

Rates.

The most common protectionist measure - tariffs, or customs duties - is taxes on imported goods, expressed as a percentage of their value (value) or in the form of a fixed fee per unit of goods, regardless of its value (specific). Such taxes go to the treasury and are used to cover government spending, but they are usually not introduced solely for the purpose of replenishing the budget. By raising the price of goods coming from abroad, tariffs help domestic producers with higher production costs than foreign rivals compete successfully in domestic markets. Output and employment in protected industries are boosted by reduced imports, which improves the country's trade balance. In addition, consumption in a country of products from protected industries tends to fall because they are more expensive. As a result, there is a redistribution of income from consumers to national producers. As for the world economy as a whole, the end result of protectionism is a reduction in the volume of trade and, as a result, a decrease in the efficiency of the use of resources and a drop in living standards.

Sometimes the rates are actually higher than it seems at first glance. Suppose a certain product is produced in only two countries. For its production, both countries purchase the necessary imported materials at the same cost; the cost of these materials is half the final price of the goods for domestic market. The other half of the domestic market price is the value added in the production process. One of these countries has introduced a tariff on the import of this product from another country in the amount of 10% of its price. However, the country that has taken protectionist measures is actually taxing the value added in the competitor's product at a "real" rate of 20%; a tariff rate of 10% is only "nominal". Naturally, the national producers of this country will not miss the opportunity to raise the price of their products by an amount equal to 20% of the value added.

Quotas.

This is a much tougher protectionist measure compared to tariffs. Instead of a direct increase in the cost of imports (the volume of which is reduced only indirectly, as a result of a fall in effective demand), quotas involve the establishment of direct quantitative restrictions on the import of certain goods. Foreign producers can no longer improve their competitive positions by lowering prices. In addition, when quotas are established (and this is another difference from tariffs), as a result of limiting the volume of imports, the number of importers should also decrease. Firms that have secured the right to import under such circumstances receive additional profit, since as a result of the introduction of quotas, there is a shortage of quota goods, and the prices of the domestic market for them exceed the world ones. Thus, quotas often lead to corruption, as bribes may be offered to officials distributing import licenses.

Sometimes exporting countries impose "voluntary quotas" on their exports in an effort to delay or prevent protectionist measures from importing countries. Usually, voluntary quotas are introduced under pressure from importing countries, which, as a rule, are justified by the fact that exporting countries, in particular Japan, do not open their borders to imports.

Subsidies.

Tariffs and quotas are set by importing countries to protect national markets from competition with foreign-made goods. However, if domestically produced and exported products begin to lose competitiveness, tariffs and quotas are rendered useless. In such cases, the state sometimes helps national producers strengthen their competitive position by enabling them to sell goods on the world market at prices below the actual cost of production. Such measures allow to increase the volume of exports, however, since such an increase in volume is artificial, the end result is an unsustainable use of resources.

Currency control.

Protectionism can also be exercised through the control of foreign exchange transactions. One of the measures of currency control is the introduction of multiple exchange rates, when the exchange of currency to pay for various goods is carried out at different rates: as a result, the import of those goods, the payment of which requires currency exchange at the most unfavorable rate, is restrained.

indirect trade barriers.

After the reduction (and in some cases the abolition) of tariffs in the 1960s, it became clear that measures not specifically designed for this role could act as barriers to trade. Such barriers include customs regime, classification and valuation of goods, technical standards and sanitary requirements, transport policy, policy public procurement, subsidizing exports and consumption of locally produced products, as well as taxation. Requiring long-term storage of imported goods at the country's borders or other rules that increase the price of goods, such as higher charges for transporting imported goods, government procurement policies predominantly from domestic producers, and taxes on goods produced abroad, restrict international trade. Loans to exporters at below normal interest rates are effectively export subsidies.

rationale for protectionism.

Most experts believe that the overall balance of economic arguments is in favor of free or at least freer trade. However, two economic justifications for protectionism in special situations have gained wide currency: the case for supporting emerging industries and the case for optimal tariff setting.

emerging industries.

The first US Treasury Secretary (1789-1795) Alexander Hamilton and the German-American economist of the 19th century. Friedrich List developed a theoretical justification for protectionism in relation to emerging industries. Hamilton and List emphasized that even in cases where a country cannot produce a product at a lower cost than competitors, it is able to establish and develop its production by erecting a protective barrier of tariffs and quotas. Thus, time is won for the workers to acquire the necessary production experience and expansion by capitalists of production to a level sufficient to achieve economies of scale. According to its advocates, such a policy not only benefits the protectionist country, but also serves the interests of the world as a whole.

The validity of such arguments has been repeatedly challenged. Even if the fundamental premise—the desirability of gaining time for national producers—is correct, it does not imply the inevitability of protectionist measures. Instead of shielding inexperienced domestic producers from foreign competition, some economists argue, governments should subsidize established export industries and keep their products competitive abroad while they learn to cut costs and expand production.

Optimal rates.

Another rationale for protectionism, built on arguments in favor of optimal tariffs, justifies the existence of a special kind of customs duties: duty levied by an exporting (rather than importing) country on exported (rather than imported) goods. Proponents of this view argue that if a product is primarily produced in one country, that country's national advantage - although not an advantage to the world as a whole - can be realized by imposing an export tariff paid by those who import the product. Given the control of production, the state is able to achieve this goal by simply raising the price. A similar policy can be pursued by a group of states united in a cartel. However, other countries, in turn, will try to take similar measures, especially if they are monopolists in the supply of any goods. As a result of all these actions, international trade as a whole may suffer.

Protectionism is resorted to not only in cases where there are grounds for protecting emerging industries or introducing optimal tariffs. Protectionist measures are often the result of nationalistic sentiments or serve the interests of certain groups of producers, bringing harm to the country applying them.

HISTORY OF INTERNATIONAL TRADE

traditional societies.

Until the end of the 19th century. in fact, everywhere the majority of the population were peasants who produced food, as well as made tools and many basic necessities. What they could not produce themselves was bought from nearby cities in exchange for surplus agricultural products (usually small) and some handicrafts. Long-distance trade trips were very rare, since almost all products were produced in small quantities, and the transport of goods was fraught with dangers and dangers. big expenses and took a lot of time. Where international trade existed, it was usually monopolized by state-licensed private organizations like the British East India Company. It made sense to export abroad only goods that were of high value with low weight: precious stones, precious metals, spices, certain types of fabrics (especially woolen and silk), furs and wine. Grain was also sometimes exported abroad, but in small quantities.

For centuries, international trade was carried on mainly along the coasts of the Mediterranean and Baltic Seas and along the Asian caravan routes leading to these seas. The main centers of international exchange of goods were the Italian cities of Venice, Genoa and Florence, the German cities of Augsburg and Nuremberg, the trading cities of Flanders (now Belgium) and the port cities of the Hanseatic League on the southern and eastern coast of the Baltic Sea. However, trade did not play a prominent role in the lives of ordinary people, and the discovery of America and the circumnavigation of Africa and South America did little to change it. Nevertheless, the result of the courage and skill shown by the sailors was the shift of European sea trade routes towards the Atlantic and Indian Oceans.

Industrial Revolution.

British technological innovations 17th–18th centuries paved the way for increased labor productivity, first in agriculture and then in industry. New machines and equipment made possible the emergence of more large enterprises for the production of cheap fabrics, and then steel smelting. These first steps towards mass production led to a sharp increase in the volume of goods transported from country to country and were accompanied by improvements in the means of transport and communication. France and Belgium soon followed the British pattern of industrial development.

Despite the significant progress made in the previous century, by the beginning of the 19th century. the volume of international trade in goods and services did not exceed 3% of the value of world output. Gradually, however, the Industrial Revolution spread to Germany, the United States, and (somewhat later) Japan. In the second half of the 19th century new branches of production appeared: mechanical engineering, electrical and chemical industries. Soon, the products of these industries accounted for a significant share of world trade. Large consignments of cargo were transported over long distances by railroads and steamships; The telegraph greatly simplified the dissemination of information throughout the world. As a result of all these changes, the volume of foreign trade increased so much that by 1913 about one-third of all products produced in the world were exported beyond national borders.

Industrialization spurred demand for raw materials, first for cotton and timber, and then for metals and fuels. About half of the raw materials were mined or produced in European countries; a significant part came from plantations, mines and other enterprises specially created in the colonies to supply Europe with the necessary goods. In many colonies, enclaves emerged that had much closer ties to foreign consumers than to the society in which they existed.

Despite the great importance of primary products in international commodity exchange in the 19th century, Europe occupied a central place in world trade. Before the outbreak of the First World War, trade between non-European countries accounted for less than 25% of the total volume of world trade, trade between European countries - approx. 40%, and for trade between European countries and the rest of the world - 35%. Great Britain remained the main trading country in the world, but its share gradually decreased due to the rapid economic development of continental Western Europe, North America and Japan.

The era of free trade.

The basis of free trade - the elimination of restrictions on the movement of goods and services from country to country - was laid by economists classical school(mainly British). Great Britain since the 18th century. gradually, step by step, she abandoned protectionism, and by the early 1840s, only tariffs on imported wheat remained in force in the main. In 1846, the country also renounced protectionism in principle against Agriculture.

Contrary to expectations, wheat prices were in no hurry to fall, since none of the countries in the world could export large quantities of it to the UK. Be that as it may, the 1850s and 1860s were a period of economic prosperity, and rightly or wrongly, this prosperity was directly associated with free trade. Other trade liberalization measures taken by Britain and other countries made the period from 1850 to 1880 an era of minimal trade barriers.

By 1870, however, as a result of the development of ocean transportation, British agriculture faced serious competition. In the late 1870s, after a long economic crisis, Europe (especially Great Britain) began to move away from the principles of free trade. At the same time, the surge of nationalism, which gave rise to political instability, forced the states to seek increased revenues to the treasury to pay for armaments. In addition, nationalism has caused countries such as the United States and Germany to fear that their industrial development will run into great difficulties if it is not possible to limit competition from Great Britain, the leader in industrial production. Under these conditions, the idea of ​​protecting young industries has grown in popularity.

20th century.

At the beginning of the century, the movement towards protectionism continued. Nevertheless, in 1914, when the First World War broke out, protectionism achieved relatively little success, although world economy was no longer as free from control over trade as it was 50 years ago. International trade, however, was still governed by the gold standard, under which national currencies had a fixed value in gold and disparities in payments between countries were settled by the transfer of gold in the corresponding amount. No country could maintain the competitiveness of its goods on the world market by devaluing the national currency; moreover, it was impossible to maintain a deficit in the balance of payments for an indefinitely long time. Therefore, all countries participating in international trade sought to ensure the competitiveness of their goods by reducing production costs.

Depression.

During the First World War, the gold standard was undermined and replaced in the 1920s by the gold exchange standard, according to which all international payments were made in British pounds sterling and US dollars. This system, however, allowed the US, Great Britain and those countries that managed to get loans from them to maintain deficit balances of payments for a long time. Eventually this system collapsed, and its collapse was one of the causes of the Great Depression of the 1930s. Many states responded to the depression by tightening control over foreign trade. One by one, they officially left the gold standard, abolished fixed exchange rates, and by devaluing national currencies and introducing tariffs and quotas, they tried to increase the competitiveness of goods by devaluing their currencies and imposing tariffs and quotas. This simultaneously protected national production from foreign competition. Such a goal could only be achieved at the expense of other countries - by pursuing a policy of "ruining your neighbor." Since many countries could and did play this game, the result was international disunity and world trade stagnated and even declined. The volume of industrial production in most countries was declining, and as a result, industrial demand for primary products was declining, which undermined international trade.

The policy of national self-sufficiency was taken to the extreme in the USSR, in Nazi Germany and fascist Italy, which strove for autarky, i.e. national economic independence. Foreign trade in the USSR was in the hands of the state and was centrally planned. Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany developed similar programs of autarky, but in these countries state control was not so comprehensive, and restrictions on foreign trade were less severe.

post-war years.

The disruption of international trade in the 1930s, exacerbated by the effects of the Second World War, was so significant that the absolute volume of trade in the 1940s did not exceed the 1913 level. improving the world trading system. It was decided to create the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which was supposed to guard the stability of currencies. Implementation of plans directly related to trade liberalization did not proceed so smoothly. However, in the second half of the 1940s, with the help of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), it was possible to achieve normalization and a certain unification of the trade policy of almost all non-socialist countries of the world. The GATT negotiations were carried out in the hope of removing as many trade barriers as possible - primarily quotas and subsidies - by including a most favored nation clause in the agreement, guaranteeing that any concession and concession in trade between countries automatically extends to all parties to the agreement. Under the auspices of the GATT, a number of multilateral trade negotiations took place: several negotiating cycles in the 1950s, in 1961 the Dillon Round, in the 1960s the Kennedy Round, in the late 1970s the Tokyo Round, and in the late 1980s and early 1990s -x - Uruguay Round. At the conclusion of the Kennedy Round, the industrialized countries' tariff on manufactured goods was reduced by an average of 10%. The Uruguay Round was tasked with achieving further reductions in customs tariffs worldwide by an average of 40%, as well as cutting trade subsidies and other non-tariff barriers.

Relatively less successful have been attempts to freer trade in temperate agricultural products. The main supplier of such products, the United States, put strong pressure on other countries to reduce tariffs, but most countries expressed their determination to protect the interests of farmers. For example, Great Britain during the Second World War faced enormous difficulties in supplying the population with imported food, so its government decided to stimulate the growth of national food production. British farmers were given subsidies that allowed the British population to buy products at world market prices, and farmers to receive a normal income.

British farmers have been, and still are, very efficient, and they make up a small percentage of the country's population. On the contrary, the farmers of some continental European countries, especially France, really needed protection due to their large numbers and low productivity. The French understood that in the end they would have to modernize agriculture, however, due to social and political reasons, they did not seek drastic changes and decided to protect national producers with protectionist measures. When France and other countries of Western Europe formed the association that later became the European Union, they created a common agricultural policy with complex system managed prices and border fees. Over time, such a policy began to cause criticism, giving rise to overproduction and the accumulation of "mountains of butter" and "lakes of wine." Some, however, argue that high levels of agricultural production serve as insurance in an unpredictable world where food shortages are regularly in danger.

Despite the resurgence of agrarian protectionism in Britain and other European countries, the volume of international trade began to increase after the war. In the period from 1953 to 1960, it increased by an average of 7% per year, and in 1960-1974 - by almost 8% per year. In addition, the growth of international trade was faster than the increase in world industrial and agricultural output. Thus, there was a trend towards a higher specialization of different countries in the production of various goods and services, although the share of cross-border products in global output by the end of the 1970s did not reach the level of 1913, i.e. approximately 33%.

1970s.

Despite the revival of trade immediately after the end of the Second World War, the difference in inflation rates between countries during the 1950s and 1960s led to trade imbalances from time to time. The UK and especially the US could neither control the rise in prices nor adapt to it by adjusting exchange rates. When exchange rates finally “floated” in the 1970s—floating in speculative foreign exchange markets in line with inflation and other economic indicators—unions demanded higher wages to compensate for rising prices of imported goods (particularly oil). As a result, measures to reduce imports by raising foreign exchange rates were often not effective enough, and governments had to resort from time to time to managed, or "dirty", floating, in which a flexible exchange rate was accompanied by large-scale borrowing to eliminate the trade deficit.

In the end, the crisis, which manifested itself in a decline in production and an increase in unemployment along with unceasing inflation, led in 1975 (for the first time since 1945) to a drop in the volume of international trade by 4%. However, in 1976 it rose again - by 11% compared with 1975, and the value of total exports reached about 1 trillion. Doll.

1980–1990s.

The Uruguay Round of GATT began in the 1980s and discussed agricultural subsidies as well as restrictions on trade in services. However, only by 1993, after eight years of negotiations, the participants in the round reached an agreement on the adoption of a new large-scale program for the development of free trade. On January 1, 1995, the GATT was replaced by the World Trade Organization (WTO), which is responsible for the practical implementation of the decisions taken during the Uruguay Round, as well as for the continuation of liberalization in the fields of telecommunications, banking services, insurance, tourism and shipping.

On January 1, 1994, the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) entered into force between Canada, the United States and Mexico. Intending within 15 years to eliminate all tariffs and other trade barriers in the region, the states parties to the agreement consider NAFTA as an intermediate step towards creating a free trade area covering the entire Western Hemisphere. East Asian countries are also reporting intentions to form a similar trading bloc.

Development prospects.

Despite the increasing integration of world markets, political, psychological and technical barriers to the movement of goods and services between countries still remain significant. The elimination of these barriers would lead to a very significant transformation of the world economy, as well as the national economies of all countries of the world. According to many economists, the first obvious signs of such a transformation appeared already in the 1970s. Most of the industrialized countries of the world have begun to realize that new industrial powers such as South Korea, Hong Kong and Brazil are quite capable of producing many types of industrial products (for example, clothing, electronic equipment, ships and cars) at a lower cost than in developed countries. . It is likely that in the future, the basic manufacturing industries of the developed countries of the world will experience great difficulties in competing with the products of new rivals. In order to maintain their current positions in world trade, industrialized countries will have to focus on the production of high-tech products or on the provision of services that require great experience (for example, in financial management), and also (in the case of the United States) in the production of food products. Adapting to new trends will require huge and very painful changes. Without these changes, the countries that are now part of the industrialized group will lose their advantage in the future world, where the ability to produce basic industrial products is likely to become much more common than at any time in the past.

Lecture number 7. Topic: International trade: structure, dynamics, pricing.

1. The concept of international trade.

2. Subjects of international trade.

3. The structure of international trade.

4. World prices and pricing.

International trade is one of the forms of international economic relations, which was historically the first and most developed today.

International trade is the sphere of commodity-money relations, which is a set of foreign trade of all countries of the world. In other words, international trade is the sphere of exchange of products of labor (goods and services) between sellers and buyers of different countries.

Foreign trade is the exchange of goods and services between state-registered national economies. The term "foreign trade" applies only to a single country.

International trade links national economies into a single system of the world market. The latter has fundamental differences from domestic national markets:

1) only competitive goods enter the world market;

2) there are world prices based on international value;

3) it is more prone to monopolization (the dominance of TNCs);

4) not economic, but political factors (for example, politics in the state, embargoes, etc.) can have a decisive influence;

5) settlements are carried out in a freely convertible currency and in international units of account.

In the process of international trade, there are two directions of commodity flows - export and import.

Export - the export of goods manufactured (produced and processed) in a given country.

Re-export - export of goods previously imported from abroad, including goods sold at international auctions, commodity exchanges, etc.

Import - import from abroad of goods, technologies for sale on the importer's domestic market, as well as receiving paid services from a foreign importer for industrial and consumer purposes.

Re-import - re-import from abroad of previously exported national goods.

Accounting for export deliveries is carried out in FOB prices; accounting of import deliveries - in CIF prices. Indicators for assessing export-import deliveries have importance to determine the quantitative and qualitative characteristics of foreign and international trade, such as:

Cost and physical volume (commodity turnover). The value of foreign trade is calculated for a certain period of time at current prices of the respective years using current exchange rates. There are nominal and real value of international trade. The nominal value of international trade is usually expressed in US dollars at current prices and is therefore highly dependent on the dynamics of the dollar exchange rate against other currencies. The real volume of international trade is the nominal volume converted into constant prices using a deflator. The physical volume of foreign trade is calculated at constant prices and allows making the necessary comparisons and determining its real dynamics. The above figures are calculated by all countries in national currencies and converted into US dollars for international comparison purposes;

Commodity structure, which is the ratio commodity groups in world exports. To date, there are over 20 million types of manufactured products for industrial and consumer purposes in the world, and the number of intermediate products reaches fantastic proportions. In addition, according to the World trade organization, there are more than 600 types of services;

The geographical structure is the distribution of trade flows between individual countries and their groups, distinguished either on a territorial or organizational basis. Territorial geographic structure - data on the international trade of countries belonging to one part of the world, or to one group. Organizational geographical structure - data on international trade between countries belonging to separate integration and other trade and political groupings, or allocated to a specific group for one reason or another.

International trade is a form of communication between producers of different countries, arising on the basis of the international division of labor, and expresses their mutual economic dependence.

Structural shifts taking place in the economies of countries under the influence of the scientific and technological revolution, specialization and cooperation of industrial production enhance the interaction of national economies. This contributes to the intensification of international trade. International trade, which mediates the movement of all intercountry commodity flows, is growing faster production. According to the World Trade Organization, for every 10% increase in world production, there is a 16% increase in world trade. This creates more favorable conditions for its development. When there are disruptions in trade, the development of production also slows down.

The term "foreign trade" refers to the trade of a country with other countries, consisting of paid import (import) and paid export (export) of goods.

Diverse foreign trade activities are subdivided according to commodity specialization into: trade in finished products, trade in machinery and equipment, trade in raw materials and trade in services.

International trade is the paid total trade turnover between all countries of the world. However, the concept of "international trade" is used in a narrower sense. It denotes, for example, the total turnover of industrialized countries, the total turnover of developing countries, the total turnover of countries of a continent, region, for example, countries of Eastern Europe, etc.

International trade carried out on the basis principles, which have been enshrined in many international legal documents, and above all in the documents of the UN Conference on Trade:

• - Economic relations between trade participants are based on the absence of interference in the internal affairs of the state, self-determination and respect for sovereign equality.
• - There should be no discrimination based on differences in socio-economic systems.
• - Countries have the right to exercise sovereign trade. Social progress and economic development contribute to the strengthening of peaceful relations, therefore, should be achieved by the joint efforts of members of the international community.
• - Countries achieve cooperation through the conclusion of international treaties.
• - International trade must be beneficial for both parties and cannot contain actions that negatively affect the interests of other countries.
• - It is necessary to promote the development of integration and other forms of cooperation of an economic nature between countries at the stage of development.

World prices vary depending on the time of year, place, conditions for the sale of goods, features of the contract. In practice, world prices are taken to be the prices of large, systematic and stable export or import transactions concluded in certain centers of world trade by well-known firms - exporters or importers of the relevant types of goods. For many commodities (cereals, rubber, cotton, etc.), world prices are set in the course of operations on the world's largest commodity exchanges.

Sooner or later, all states face the dilemma of choosing a foreign trade national policy. There have been heated discussions on this topic for two centuries.

It is in the interest of each country to specialize in the industry in which it has the greatest advantage or the least weakness, and for which the relative advantage is greatest.

National production differences determined different endowment factors production- labor, land, capital, as well as various internal needs for certain goods. The effect exerted by foreign trade (in particular, exports) on the dynamics of national income growth, on the size of employment, consumption and investment activity, is characterized for each country by quite definite quantitative dependencies and can be calculated and expressed as a certain coefficient - a multiplier (multiplier). Initially, export orders will directly increase output, and hence wages in the industries fulfilling this order. And then secondary consumer spending will kick in.

The objective basis of interstate economic relations is international separation labor- specialization of individual countries within the framework of the world economy in the production of certain types of products and services. This specialization necessitates the exchange of results between different countries. In the economic literature, there are three type international separation labor.

General- division of labor by spheres of production (mining and manufacturing, agriculture, etc.) and, as a result, the division of countries into raw materials, agricultural and industrial.

Private- specialization of countries in certain industries (for example, engineering, light, food industry etc.). The private international division of labor means a broad development of interbranch exchange.

single- specialization of countries in the manufacture of individual units, machines, parts, assemblies or technological stages of the production process. For example, during the construction of the international space station, individual components and assemblies were developed by Russia, others by the United States, and still others by France. Today it is almost impossible to determine the nationality of the finished product: for example, a Japanese-made TV consists of parts made in Asian countries, and it is assembled in Japan, Great Britain, Spain and other countries of the world. A single international division of labor means the development of intra-industry specialization and corresponds to highly developed productive forces. In the direction of its development, the center of gravity of foreign economic relations has now shifted.

The reasons for the development of the international division of labor include the following:

• 1. natural and climatic differences associated with the provision of the country with minerals, arable land, etc.;
• 2. the geographical position of the country, characterized primarily by its remoteness from the main transport routes and markets;
• 3. differences in population and territory;
• 4. features of historical development (established production and foreign economic traditions). So, recognized world leaders are:

in the production of watches - Switzerland, fabrics - Great Britain, glassware - Italy, tea - India, China and Ceylon, coffee - Brazil;

5. the level of economic and scientific and technological development of countries.

Currently, there is a relative decrease in the role of the first two factors in connection with the creation of new Vehicle and especially - information communications.

As a result of the deepening of the international division of labor, stable production and economic relations were formed between individual countries, that is, a process called the internationalization of the economy, manifested in the growth of interdependence of national economies, in the output of the reproduction process beyond national borders, in the increasing participation of countries in the international division labor. Despite the fact that economic and political ties between countries arose with the advent of nation-states, the formation of stable economic ties (that is, the process of internationalization of the economy) became possible only with the transition to large-scale machine production.

The most important forms of international economic relations include the following:

• 1. Trade in goods. The exchange of traditional goods has existed for millennia. The term "trade" originally meant just such an exchange. International trade in goods is the totality of foreign trade of all countries of the world. It is divided into trade in commodities, machinery and equipment, and consumer goods.
• 2. Trade in services. This is the trade in "invisible" goods that do not have a material form. These include:
  • a) exchange of scientific and technical knowledge. The goods here are products of intellectual labor in the form of patents, trademarks, technical knowledge and experience, referred to as “know-how” (“I know how”), technical services (engineering), etc.;
  • b) international tourism;
  • c) rental operations;
  • d) information and advertising services;
  • e) intermediary and other types of services.
• 3. Export of capital - the movement, or migration, of capital across national borders.
• 4. International migration labor force, meaning the movement, resettlement of the able-bodied population for economic reasons.
• 5. Economic integration, which means the creation of a single international economy based on the interweaving of the economies of individual states. An example of economic integration is the European Union (EU).
• 6. International currency relations. With their help, all other forms of international economic relations are carried out.

To subjects world farms refer states with their national economic complexes, transnational corporations, international economic organizations, as well as legal entities and individuals.

Currently, there are about 240 states in the world, in which 6.1 billion people live. According to the official version of the UN in the world economy, there are three groups countries:

• 1. Developed countries with a market economy, where the "golden billion" of humanity lives. This includes approximately 25 of the most industrialized countries in North America, Western Europe and the Asia-Pacific region;
• 2. Developing countries with market economies. This group includes more than 100 states, common features which are the multistructural nature of the economy, the backwardness of the development of industry, agriculture, social infrastructure, peripheral position and dependence in the world economy;
• 3. Countries with economies in transition. These include the former socialist countries of Europe, the CIS countries, gradually dissolving in the two previous groups of countries.

In the structure of Russia's foreign trade turnover in 2004, the first place was occupied by the EU countries, the second place - by the CIS countries, followed by the member states of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC). Among individual countries, Russia's largest foreign trade partners are Germany, the Netherlands, China, Italy, Belarus and Ukraine. These six countries account for more than 40% of Russia's foreign trade turnover.

Table 1 reflects the data of the foreign trade of the Russian Federation with the countries of the Far Abroad according to Rosstat.

Table 1

Foreign trade of the Russian Federation with far-abroad countries (million dollars)

Table 1 shows that in 2007 most of Russia's exports go to Europe, and similarly, most of Russia's imports come from Europe. In 2007, the Netherlands accounted for 12.1% of Russia's total exports, Italy - 7.8%, Germany - 7.5%, Turkey - 5.2%, China - 4.5%, Switzerland - 4.0%, Poland - 3.8, United Kingdom (Great Britain) - 3.1, Finland - 3.0, France - 2.5, USA - 2.3%. Imports were dominated by deliveries from Germany - 13.3%, China - 12.2, Japan - 6.4, USA - 4.7, Italy - 4.3, France - 3.9, United Kingdom (Great Britain) - 2, 8, Finland - 2.5%, Poland - 2.3%, Netherlands - 1.9%.

Table 2 reflects data on the export of goods from the Russian Federation to the CIS countries according to Rosstat.

table 2

Export of the Russian Federation to the CIS countries (million dollars)

From the CIS countries in 2007, in the total volume of Russian exports, Belarus accounted for 4.9%, Ukraine - 4.6%, Kazakhstan - 3.4%. Imports were dominated by supplies from Ukraine - 6.7% of the total volume of Russian imports, Belarus - 4.4%, Kazakhstan - 2.3%.

Thus, the world economy is a single world economic mechanism, which includes national economies. At present, the world economy has undergone great changes. If earlier the manufacturing industry was located mainly in developed countries, and backward countries developed as agricultural and raw material appendages, now almost all countries produce finished products. However, developed countries specialize in the export of science-intensive goods, while backward countries specialize in the export of resource-, labor- and capital-intensive goods, the manufacture of which often pollutes the environment.

1. The concept of international trade ……………………………………..……..2

…………………...……3

1.3. Main indicators of world trade…………………………….…….5

……………………………………….….….6

3. Structure and main commodity flows of world trade ……………8

4. Types of world trade ………………………………………………………….….11

4.1. Wholesale…………………………………………………………………11

4.2. Commodity exchanges……………………………………………………………………13

4.3. Futures exchanges.................................................................................................14

4.4. stock exchanges………………………………………………………….………..16

4.5. Trade fairs………………………………………………………………………….…….16

4.6. Currency markets…………………………………………………………….……..17

5. Main problems of international trade …………...…...………….18

Conclusion …………………………………………………………………………..…….…20

1. The concept of international trade

International trade is a form of communication between producers of different countries, arising on the basis of the international division of labor, and expresses their mutual economic dependence. The following definition is often given in the literature: International trade is the process of buying and selling between buyers, sellers and intermediaries in different countries.

World trade is the most common form international relations. It existed long before the formation of the world economy and was its immediate predecessor. International trade exchange is both a prerequisite and a consequence of the international division of labor, and is an important factor in the formation and functioning of the world economy. In its historical evolution, it has gone from single foreign trade transactions to long-term large-scale trade and economic cooperation.

International trade includes the export and import of goods, the sum of which is called turnover, between all countries of the world. However, the concept of "international trade" is used in a narrower sense. It denotes, for example, the total turnover of industrialized countries, the total turnover of developing countries, the total turnover of the countries of a continent, region, for example, the countries of Eastern Europe, etc.

A powerful impetus to this process was the creation in a number of more industrialized countries (England, Holland, etc.) of large-scale machine production, focused on large-scale and regular imports of raw materials from the economically less developed countries of Asia, Africa and Latin America, and exports of manufactured goods to these countries. primarily for consumer use.

1.2. The main stages in the development of world trade

Originating in ancient times, world trade reaches a significant scale and acquires the character of stable international commodity-money relations at the turn of the 18th and 19th centuries.

In the XX century. World trade has gone through a series of deep crises. The first of these was associated with the World War of 1914-1918, it led to a long and deep disruption of world trade, which lasted until the end of World War II, which shook the entire structure of international economic relations to its foundations. In the post-war period, world trade faced new difficulties associated with the collapse of the colonial system. It should be noted that all these crises were overcome. On the whole, a characteristic feature of the post-war period was a noticeable acceleration in the rate of development of world trade, which reached the highest level in the entire previous history of human society. Since the second half of the 20th century, when international exchange has taken on an “explosive character”, world trade has been developing at a rapid pace. In the period 1950-1994. world trade turnover increased 14 times. According to Western experts, the period between 1950 and 1970 can be described as a "golden age" in the development of international trade. Thus, the average annual growth rate of world exports was in the 50s. 6%, in the 60s. - 8.2. In the period from 1970 to 1991, the physical volume of world exports (that is, calculated at constant prices) increased 2.5 times, the average annual growth rate was 9.0%, in 1991-1995. this indicator was equal to 6.2%. Accordingly, the volume of world trade also increased. AT recent times This figure is growing at an average of 1.9% per year.

It was during this period that an annual 7% growth in world exports was achieved. However, already in the 70s it dropped to 5%, decreasing even more in the 80s. In the late 1980s, world exports showed a noticeable recovery (up to 8.5% in 1988). After a clear decline in the early 1990s, in the mid-1990s, it again demonstrates high sustainable rates, even despite significant annual fluctuations caused first by the September 11 attacks in the United States, and then by the war in Iraq and the resulting surge in world prices for energy resources.

So far, the developing countries have mainly remained suppliers of raw materials, foodstuffs, and relatively simple finished products to the world market. However, the growth rate of trade in raw materials lags markedly behind the overall growth rate of world trade. This lag is due to the development of substitutes for raw materials, their more economical use, and the deepening of their processing. Industrialized countries have almost completely captured the market for high technology products. At the same time, some developing countries, primarily the “newly industrialized countries”, have managed to achieve significant progress in the restructuring of their exports, increasing the share of finished products, industrial products, incl. machines and equipment. Thus, the share of industrial exports of developing countries in the total world volume in the early 1990s was 16.3%. Now this figure is already approaching 25%.

1.3. Main indicators of world trade

The foreign trade of all countries together forms international trade, which is based on the international division of labor. In theory, world trade is characterized by the following main indicators:

Foreign trade turnover of countries, which is the sum of exports and imports;

Export is the removal from the country of goods and services sold to a foreign buyer for sale on a foreign market, or for processing in another country. It also includes the transportation of goods in transit through a third country, the export of goods brought from other countries for sale in a third country, i.e. re-export.

Import is the importation of goods and services from abroad into the country. The import of material assets for their sale in the domestic market is a visible import. Imports of component parts, semi-finished products, etc. constitute indirect imports. Foreign currency costs for transshipment of goods, passengers, travel insurance, technology and other services, as well as transfers of companies and individuals abroad are included in the so-called invisible imports.

In addition, international trade is characterized by the following indicators:

overall growth rates;

growth rates relative to production growth;

growth rate of world trade relative to previous years.

The first of these indicators is determined by the ratio of the indicator of the volume of international trade of the year under review to the indicator of the base year. It can be used to characterize the percentage of changes in the volume of international trade over a certain period of time.

Attributing the rate of growth in international trade to the rate of growth in output is the starting point for identifying several characteristics that are important for describing the dynamics of international trade.

Firstly, this indicator characterizes the productivity of production in the country, that is, the amount of goods and services that it can provide to the world market for a certain period of time. Secondly, it can be used to assess the overall level of development of the productive forces of the state from the standpoint of international trade.

2. Theories of international trade

At different times, various theories of world trade appeared and were refuted, which in one way or another tried to explain the origin of this phenomenon, to determine its goals, laws, advantages and disadvantages. The following are the most common theories of international trade.

Mercantilist theory. Within this theory, it was believed that main goal of each state is wealth, and the world has limited wealth, and an increase in the wealth of one country is possible only at the expense of a decrease in the wealth of another country. At the same time, the role of the state in international economic policy was reduced to maintaining a positive trade balance and regulating foreign trade to stimulate exports and reduce imports.

The mercantilists were the first to emphasize the importance of international trade and were the first to describe the balance of payments. The main drawback of this theory is that here the development of countries is seen as possible only through the redistribution of wealth, and not through its growth.

A. Smith's theory of absolute advantages. It was believed that the well-being of nations depended not only on the amount of gold, but also on the ability to produce goods and services. Consequently, the task of the state is to develop production through the division of labor and cooperation. The formulation of the theory itself sounds like this: countries export those goods that they produce at lower costs, i.e. in the production of which they have absolute advantages, and I import those goods that are produced by other countries at lower costs, i.e. in the production of which the trading partners have an advantage.

This theory shows the advantages of the division of labor, but at the same time does not explain trade in the absence of absolute advantages.

D. Ricardo's theory of comparative advantage is formulated as follows: if countries specialize in the production of those goods that they can produce at relatively lower costs compared to other countries, then trade will be mutually beneficial regardless of whether production in one of them is absolutely more effective than the other or not.

This theory was the first to prove the existence of gains from trade and describe aggregate demand and aggregate supply. Although at the same time it does not take into account transport costs and the impact of foreign trade on the distribution of income within the country, acting only in conditions of full employment.

Heckscher-Ohlin's theory of ratio of factors of production. Operates with the concepts of factor intensity (the ratio of the cost of production factors to create a product) and factor saturation (provision with production factors). According to this theory, each country exports those factor-intensive goods for the production of which it has relatively excess factors of production, and imports those for the production of which it experiences a relative shortage of factors of production. This theory derives the reason for the influence of different factors of production on international trade. International trade leads to equalization of prices for factors of production in trading countries.

The limitation of the theory is that only two countries with identical technologies are considered and internal factors are not taken into account.

Leontief's paradox. The well-known economist Wassily Leontiev, studying the structure of US exports and imports in 1956, found that, contrary to the Heckscher-Ohlin theory, exports were dominated by relatively more labor-intensive goods, while imports were dominated by capital-intensive ones. This result became known as Leontief's paradox.

Thus, with the development of the concept of "international trade", its content became more complicated, although by now it has not been possible to create such a theory that would correspond to practice as much as possible.

3. Structure and main commodity flows of world trade

Looking at the structure of world trade in the first half of the 20th century (before the 2nd World War) and in subsequent years, we see significant changes. If in the first half of the century 2/3 of the world trade was accounted for by food, raw materials and fuel, then by the end of the century they account for 1/4 of the trade. The share of trade in manufacturing products increased from 1/3 to 3/4. And finally, more than 1/3 of all world trade in the mid-1990s was trade in machinery and equipment.

The commodity structure of world trade is changing under the influence of scientific and technological revolution, the deepening of the international division of labor. Currently, manufacturing products are of the greatest importance in world trade: they account for 3/4 of the world trade turnover. Particularly rapidly growing is the share of such types of products as machinery, equipment, vehicles, chemical products, manufacturing products, especially science-intensive goods. The share of food, raw materials and fuel is approximately 1/5.

Organizational and technical aspect studies physical exchange of goods and services between state-registered national economies (states). The main attention is paid to the problems associated with the purchase (sale) of specific goods, their movement between counterparties (seller - buyer) and crossing state borders, with settlements, etc. These aspects of MT are studied by specific special (applied) disciplines - organization and technique of foreign trade operations, customs, international financial and credit operations, international law(its various branches), accounting, etc.

Organizational and market aspect defines MT as combination of world demand and world supply, which materialize in two counter flows of goods and (or) services - world export (export) and world import (import). At the same time, the world supply is understood as the volume of production of goods that consumers are ready to collectively purchase at the existing price level inside and outside the country, and the aggregate supply is understood as the volume of production of goods that producers are ready to offer on the market at the existing price level. They are usually considered only in value terms. The problems that arise in this case are mainly related to the study of the state of the market for specific goods (the ratio of supply and demand on it - the conjuncture), the optimal organization of commodity flows between countries, taking into account a wide variety of factors, but above all the price factor.

These problems are studied by international marketing and management, theories of international trade and the world market, international monetary and financial relations.

Socio-economic aspect considers MT as a special type socio-economic relations arising between states in the process and about the exchange of goods and services. These relationships have a number of features that make them particularly important in the world economy.

First of all, it should be noted that they are global in nature, since all states and all their economic groupings are involved in them; they are an integrator, uniting national economies into a single world economy and internationalizing it, based on the international division of labor (IDL). MT determines what is more profitable for the state to produce and under what conditions to exchange the produced product. Thus, it contributes to the expansion and deepening of the MRT, and hence the MT, involving more and more states in them. These relations are objective and universal, i.e. they exist independently of the will of one (group) person and are suitable for any state. They are able to systematize the world economy, placing the states depending on the development of foreign trade (BT) in it, on the share that it (BT) occupies in international trade, on the size of the average per capita foreign trade turnover. On this basis, "small" countries are distinguished - those that cannot influence the change in the price of MR if they change their demand for any product and, conversely, "large" countries. Small countries, in order to make up for this weakness in this or that market, often unite (integrate) and present aggregate demand and aggregate supply. But large countries can also unite, thus strengthening their position in the MT.

Characteristics of international trade

A number of indicators are used to characterize international trade:

• cost and physical volume of world trade;
• general, commodity and geographical (spatial) structure;
• the level of specialization and industrialization of exports;
• coefficients of elasticity of MT, exports and imports, terms of trade;
• foreign trade, export and import quotas;
• trade balance.

World trade

World trade turnover is the sum of foreign trade turnover of all countries. Foreign trade turnover of the country- this is the sum of exports and imports of one country with all countries with which it is in foreign trade relations.

Since all countries import and export goods and services, world trade also defined as sum of world exports and world imports.

State world trade is estimated by its volume for a certain time period or on a certain date, and development- the dynamics of these volumes for a certain period.

The volume is measured in monetary and physical terms, respectively, in US dollars and in physical terms (tons, meters, barrels, etc., if applicable to homogeneous group goods), or in a conditional physical measurement, if the goods do not have a single natural measurement. To assess the physical volume, the value volume is divided by the average world price.

To assess the dynamics of world trade, chain, basic and average annual growth rates (indices) are used.

MT structure

The structure of world trade shows ratio in its total volume of certain parts, depending on the chosen feature.

General structure reflects the ratio of exports and imports as a percentage or in shares. In physical volume, this ratio is equal to 1, and in total, the share of imports is always greater than the share of exports. This is due to the fact that exports are valued at FOB (Free on board) prices, according to which the seller pays only for the delivery of goods to the port and its loading on board the vessel; imports are valued at CIF prices (cost, insurance, freight, i.e. they include in the cost of goods, freight cost, insurance costs and other port fees).

Commodity structure world trade shows the share of a particular group in its total volume. At the same time, it should be borne in mind that in the MT a product is considered as a product that satisfies some social need, to which two main market forces are directed - supply and demand, and one of them necessarily acts from abroad.

Goods produced in national economies participate in MT in different ways. Some of them don't participate at all. Therefore, all goods are divided into tradable and non-tradable.

Tradable goods are freely movable between countries, non-tradable goods do not move between countries for one reason or another (uncompetitive, strategically important for the country, etc.). When talking about the commodity structure of world trade, we are talking only about tradable goods.

In the most general proportion in world trade, trade in goods and services is singled out. Currently, the ratio between them is 4:1.

In world practice, various classification systems for goods and services are used. For example, trade in goods uses the Standard International Trade Classification (UN) - SITC, in which 3118 main commodity items are combined into 1033 subgroups (of which 2805 items are included in 720 subgroups), which are aggregated into 261 groups, 67 departments and 10 sections. Most countries use the Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System (including the Russian Federation since 1991).

When characterizing the commodity structure of world trade, two large groups of goods are most often distinguished: raw materials and finished products, the ratio between which (in percent) has developed as 20: 77 (3% others). For individual groups of countries, it varies from 15: 82 (for developed countries with market economies) (3% others) to 45: 55 (for developing countries). For individual countries (foreign trade turnover), the range of variations is even wider. This ratio may change depending on changes in the prices of raw materials, especially energy.

For a more detailed description of the commodity structure, a diversified approach can be used (within the framework of the SMTC or in other frameworks in accordance with the objectives of the analysis).

To characterize world exports, it is important to calculate the share of engineering products in its total volume. Comparing it with a similar indicator of the country allows us to calculate the index of industrialization of its exports (I), which can be in the range from 0 to 1. The closer it is to 1, the more the trends in the development of the country's economy coincide with the trends in the development of the world economy.

Geographic (spatial) structure world trade is characterized by its distribution along the lines of commodity flows - the totality of goods (in physical terms) moving between countries.

Distinguish between commodity flows between countries with developed market economies (SRRE). They are commonly referred to as "West-West" or "North-North". They account for about 60% of world trade; between SRRE and RS, which stand for "West-South" or "North-South", they account for over 30% of world trade; between RS - "South - South" - about 10%.

In the spatial structure, one should also distinguish between regional, integration and intra-corporate turnover. These are parts of the world trade turnover, reflecting its concentration within one region (for example, Southeast Asia), one integration grouping (for example, the EU) or one corporation (for example, any TNC). Each of them is characterized by its general, commodity and geographical structure and reflects the trends and degree of internationalization and globalization of the world economy.

MT Specialization

To assess the degree of specialization of world trade, the index of specialization (T) is calculated. It shows the share of intra-industry trade (exchange of parts, assemblies, semi-finished products, finished items of one industry, for example, cars different brands, models) in the total volume of world trade. Its value is always in the range 0-1; the closer it is to 1, the deeper the international division of labor (MRI) in the world, the greater the role of the intra-industry division of labor in it. Naturally, its value will depend on how broadly the industry is defined: the wider it is, the higher the T coefficient.

A special place in the complex of indicators of world trade is occupied by those that allow us to assess the impact of world trade on the world economy. These include, first of all, the coefficient of elasticity of world trade. It is calculated as the ratio of the growth rates of physical volumes of GDP (GNP) and trade. Its economic content lies in the fact that it shows by how many percent the GDP (GNP) increased with an increase in trade turnover by 1%. The global economy is characterized by a tendency to strengthen the role of MT. For example, in 1951-1970. the coefficient of elasticity was 1.64; in 1971-1975 and 1976-1980 - 1.3; in 1981-1985 - 1.12; in 1987-1989 - 1.72; in 1986-1992 - 2.37. As a rule, during periods economic crises the coefficient of elasticity is lower than during recessions and booms.

Terms of trade

Terms of trade is a coefficient that establishes a relationship between the average world prices of exports and imports, since it is calculated as the ratio of their indices for a certain period of time. Its value varies from 0 to + ¥: if it is equal to 1, then the terms of trade are stable and maintain the parity of export and import prices. If the ratio increases (compared to the previous period), then the terms of trade are improving and vice versa.

MT elasticity coefficients

Elasticity of imports— an index that characterizes the change in aggregate demand for imports resulting from changes in the terms of trade. It is calculated as a percentage of import volumes and its price. In its numerical value, it is always greater than zero and changes to
+ ¥. If its value is less than 1, then a 1% price increase led to an increase in demand by more than 1%, and therefore, the demand for imports is elastic. If the coefficient is more than 1, then the demand for imports has grown by less than 1%, which means that imports are inelastic. Therefore, an improvement in the terms of trade forces a country to increase its spending on imports if demand is elastic, and to decrease it if it is inelastic, while increasing spending on exports.

Export elasticity and imports is also closely related to the terms of trade. With the elasticity of imports equal to 1 (a 1% drop in the price of imports led to an increase in its volume by 1%), the supply (export) of goods increases by 1%. This means that the elasticity of exports (Ex) will be equal to the elasticity of imports (Eim) minus 1, or Ex = Eim - 1. Thus, the higher the elasticity of imports, the more developed the market mechanism that allows producers to respond faster to changes in world prices. Low elasticity is fraught with serious economic problems for the country, if this is not due to other reasons: high investments made earlier in the industry, the inability to quickly reorient, etc.

These elasticity indicators can be used to characterize international trade, but they are more effective for characterizing foreign trade. This also applies to such indicators as foreign trade, export and import quotas.

MT quotas

The foreign trade quota (FTC) is defined as half the sum (S/2) of exports (E) and imports (I) of a country, divided by GDP or GNP and multiplied by 100%. It characterizes the average dependence on the world market, its openness to the world economy.

Analysis of the significance of exports for the country is estimated by the export quota - the ratio of the amount of exports to GDP (GNP), multiplied by 100%; The import quota is calculated as the ratio of imports to GDP (GNP) multiplied by 100%.

The growth of the export quota indicates the growth of its importance for the development of the country's economy, but this significance itself can be both positive and negative. It is certainly positive if exports expand. finished products, but the growth of exports of raw materials, as a rule, leads to a deterioration in the terms of trade for the exporting country. If, at the same time, exports are mono-commodity, then its growth can lead to the destruction of the economy, therefore such growth is called destructive. The result of this growth in exports is the lack of funds for its further increase, and the deterioration of the terms of trade in terms of profitability does not allow acquiring the necessary amount of imports for export earnings.

Trade balance

The resulting indicator characterizing the country's foreign trade is the trade balance, which is the difference between the sum of exports and imports. If this difference is positive (which is what all countries strive for), then the balance is active; if it is negative, it is passive. The trade balance is included integral part into the country's balance of payments and largely determines the latter.

Modern trends in the development of international trade in goods and services

The development of modern MT is influenced by common processes flowing in the global economy. The economic recession that affected all groups of countries, the Mexican and Asian financial crises, the growing size of internal and external imbalances in many states, including developed ones, could not but cause uneven development of international trade, a slowdown in its growth in the 1990s. At the beginning of the XXI century. the growth rate of world trade increased, and in 2000-2005. it increased by 41.9%.

The world market is characterized by trends associated with the further internationalization of the world economy and its globalization. They are manifested in the growing role of MT in the development of the world economy, and foreign trade in the development of national economies. The first is confirmed by the increase in the elasticity coefficient of world trade (more than twice as compared to the mid-1980s), and the second is the growth of export and import quotas for most countries.

"Openness", "interdependence" of economies, "integration" are becoming key concepts for the world economy and international trade. In many ways, this happened under the influence of TNCs, which really became the centers of coordination and engines of the world exchange of goods and services. Within themselves and among themselves, they have created a network of relationships that go beyond the borders of states. As a result, about 1/3 of all imports and up to 3/5 of trade in machinery and equipment falls on intracorporate trade and is an exchange of intermediate products (component products). The consequence of this process is the barterization of international trade and the growth of other types of countertrade transactions, which already account for up to 30% of all international trade. This part of the world market is losing its purely commercial features and is turning into so-called quasi-trade. It is served by specialized intermediary firms, banking and financial institutions. At the same time, the nature of competition in the world market and the structure of competitive factors are changing. The development of the economic and social infrastructure, the presence of a competent bureaucracy, a strong educational system, sustainable macroeconomic stabilization policy, quality, design, product style, timely delivery, after-sales service. As a result, there is a clear stratification of countries on the basis of technological leadership in the world market. Fortune accompanies those countries that have new competitive advantages, i.e. they are technological leaders. They are a minority in the world, but they get most of the FDI, which enhances their technological leadership and competitiveness in the IR.

Significant shifts are taking place in the commodity structure of the MT: the share of finished goods has increased and the share of food and raw materials (without fuel) has decreased. This happened as a result of the further development of scientific and technical progress, which increasingly replaces natural raw materials with synthetic ones, and allows the implementation of resource-saving technologies in production. At the same time, trade in mineral fuels (especially oil) and gas has grown sharply. This is due to a complex of factors, including the development of the chemical industry, changes in the fuel and energy balance and an unprecedented increase in oil prices, which at the end of the decade, compared to its beginning, more than doubled.

In trade finished goods the share of science-intensive goods, high-tech products (microtechnics, chemical, pharmaceutical, aerospace, etc. products) is growing. This is especially clear in the exchange between developed countries - technological leaders. For example, in the foreign trade of the USA, Switzerland and Japan, the share of such products accounts for over 20%, Germany and France - about 15%.

The geographical structure of international trade has also changed quite noticeably, although the “West-West” sector, which accounts for about 70% of world trade, is still decisive for its development, and within this sector a dozen (USA, Germany, Japan, France, UK, Italy, Netherlands, Canada, Switzerland, Sweden).

At the same time, trade between developed countries and developing countries is growing more dynamically. This is due to a whole range of factors, not least of which is the disappearance of a whole cluster of countries in transition. According to the UNCTAD classification, all of them have moved into the category of developing countries (except for 8 CEE countries that joined the EU on May 1, 2004). UNCTAD estimates that MS was the driving force behind the development of MT in the 1990s. They remain so at the beginning of the 21st century. This is due to the fact that although the markets of the RS are less capacious than the markets of the RSEM, they are more dynamic and therefore more attractive for their developed partners, especially for TNCs. At the same time, the purely agrarian and raw material specialization of most RSs is supplemented by the transfer to them of functions for supplying industrial centers with material-intensive and labor-intensive products of manufacturing industries based on the use of cheaper labor. Often these are the most environmentally polluted industries. TNCs contribute to the growth of the share of finished products in the export of the RS, however, the commodity structure of trade in this sector remains predominantly raw materials (by 70-80%), which makes it very vulnerable to price fluctuations in the world market and worsening terms of trade.

There are a number of very acute problems in the trade of developing countries, arising primarily from the fact that price remains the main factor in their competitiveness, and the terms of trade that change not in their favor inevitably lead to an increase in its imbalance and less intensive growth. Eliminating these problems involves optimizing the commodity structure of foreign trade based on the diversification of industrial production, eliminating the technological backwardness of countries that makes their exports of finished products uncompetitive, and increasing the activity of countries in trade in services.

Modern MT is characterized by a trend towards the development of trade in services, especially business services (engineering, consulting, leasing, factoring, franchising, etc.). If in 1970 the volume of world exports of all services (including all types of international and transit transport, foreign tourism, banking services, etc.) amounted to 80 billion dollars, then in 2005 it was about 2.2 trillion. dollars, i.e., almost 28 times more.

At the same time, the growth rate of exports of services is slowing down and significantly lags behind the growth rates of exports of goods. So, if for 1996-2005. the average annual export of goods and services almost doubled compared to the previous decade, then in 2001-2005. The increase in exports of goods on average per year was 3.38%, and services - 2.1%. As a result, the indicator of the share of services in the total volume of world trade is stagnating: in 1996 it was 20%, in 2000 - 19.6%, in 2005 - 20.1%. The leading positions in this trade in services are occupied by the RSEM, they account for about 80% of the total volume of international trade in services, which is due to their technological leadership.

The global market for goods and services is characterized by trends associated with the further internationalization of the world economy. In addition to the growing role of MT in the development of the world economy, the transformation of foreign trade into an integral part of the national reproduction process, there is a clear trend towards its further liberalization. This is confirmed not only by the decrease in the average level of customs duties, but also by the elimination (easing) of quantitative restrictions on imports, the expansion of trade in services, the change in the nature of the world market itself, which now receives not so much surpluses of national production of goods as pre-agreed supplies of goods produced specifically for a particular consumer. goods.