The concept of international trade is brief. Basics of the standard model. Features of the global market of machine and technical products

International trade is nothing more than the process of buying and selling, which is carried out between sellers, buyers, intermediaries from different countries. Structure international trade includes goods, and the relationship between them is called the trade balance.

The commodity structure of international trade is changing and is subject to the impact of scientific and technological progress, as well as the deepening division of labor. IN this moment The most important in international trade are products that belong to Equipment, machinery, chemical products, vehicles- these are the types of products whose share is growing especially rapidly. And trade in high-tech products and knowledge-intensive goods is developing very dynamically. This stimulates the exchange of services between countries, especially those of a communication, production, financial, credit, and scientific and technical nature. industrial goods is stimulated by trade in services (leasing, consulting, information and computing, engineering).

The structure of international trade indicates the ratio in the total volume of any parts, depending on the selected attribute. General structure international trade shows the ratio of imports and exports in shares or percentages. IN in monetary terms the share of exports is always less than the share of imports. And in physical volume this ratio is equal to one. The commodity structure of international trade shows the share of certain goods in its total volume.

Some goods do not participate in global trade at all. Therefore, they are all divided into non-tradable and tradable. The first group are those who, for various reasons (strategic importance for the country, lack of competitiveness) do not move between different countries. And the first group is goods that can move freely.

When the structure of international trade is characterized by specialists, two groups of goods are distinguished: and raw materials.

The geographical structure of international trade is characterized by the distribution of trade turnover in the directions of various commodity flows. Currently, the situation is that countries that are industrialized and have more developed economies trade most with each other. focused on the markets of those countries that are industrialized. 25 percent of world trade turnover - this is their share in world trade. IN Lately Countries called newly industrialized (Asian) are playing an increasingly important role, but oil exporting countries are losing their importance in world trade.

International trade takes different forms. Depending on the number of subjects, it can be single- or multi-subject. There is also a division based on the number of parties into bilateral and multilateral. Based on territorial scope, world trade is divided into local, regional, interregional and global. There is also a division according to the structure of connections into intra-company, intra-industry, inter-industry, horizontal, vertical and mixed.

Currently, international trade plays an important role in economic development many countries, as well as regions and the world community. is now considered the most powerful factor in economic growth. And now many countries are heavily dependent on international trade. Such a dynamic growth of international trade is influenced by such factors as the internationalization of production, the development of the division of labor between countries, the activities and existence of transnational corporations, TNCs, as well as scientific and technological revolution.

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Economics for non-economists: International trade (part 2) #8

World Trade

27 International trade

World economy. Lecture 4. International trade

Lecture 7 International trade, its nature, causes and scope

Subtitles

Benefits of participating in international trade

the intensification of the reproduction process in national economies is a consequence of increased specialization, the creation of opportunities for the emergence and development of mass production, an increase in the level of equipment utilization, and an increase in the efficiency of the introduction of new technologies;
an increase in export supplies entails an increase in employment;
international competition creates the need to improve enterprises;
export earnings serve as a source of capital accumulation aimed at industrial development.

Classic theories of international trade

Mercantilism

Mercantilism is a system of views of economists from the 17th century, focused on the active intervention of the state in economic activity. Representatives of the direction: Thomas Maine, Antoine de Montchretien, William Stafford. The term was coined by Adam Smith, who criticized the works of mercantilists. Key points:

the need to maintain an active trade balance of the state (excess of exports over imports);
recognition of the benefits of bringing gold and other precious metals into the country in order to improve its welfare;
money is a stimulus for trade, since it is believed that an increase in the supply of money increases the volume of the commodity supply;
protectionism is welcomed, aimed at importing raw materials and semi-finished products and exporting finished products;
restrictions on the export of luxury goods, as it leads to the outflow of gold from the state.

Adam Smith's Theory of Absolute Advantage

A country's real wealth consists of the goods and services available to its citizens. If a country can produce a particular good more and cheaper than other countries, then it has an absolute advantage. Some countries can produce goods more efficiently than others. The country's resources flow into profitable industries because the country cannot compete in unprofitable industries. This leads to an increase in the country's productivity as well as skills work force; long periods of production of homogeneous products provide stimulation for the production of more effective methods work. Natural Benefits:

climate;
territory;
resources.

Gained benefits:

production technology, that is, the ability to produce a variety of products.

David Ricardo's theory of comparative advantage

Specialization in the production of a product that has maximum comparative advantage is also beneficial in the absence of absolute advantages. A country should specialize in exporting goods in which it has the greatest absolute advantage (if it has an absolute advantage in both goods) or the least absolute disadvantage (if it has no absolute advantage for none of the products). Specialization in certain types of goods is beneficial for each of these countries and leads to an increase in total production, motivating trade even if one country has an absolute advantage in the production of all goods over another country. An example in this case would be the exchange of English cloth for Portuguese wine, which brings benefits to both countries...

Heckscher-Ohlin theory

According to this theory, a country exports goods for the production of which it uses intensively a relatively abundant factor of production, and imports goods for the production of which it experiences a relative shortage of factors of production. Necessary conditions for existence:

countries participating in international exchange have a tendency to export those goods and services for the production of which they mainly use production factors that are in abundance, and, conversely, a tendency to import those products for which there is a shortage of some factors;
the development of international trade leads to the equalization of “factor” prices, that is, the income received by the owner of a given factor;
It is possible, given sufficient international mobility of factors of production, to replace the export of goods by moving the factors themselves between countries.

Leontief's paradox

The essence of the paradox is that the share of capital-intensive goods in exports will grow, while labor-intensive goods will decline.

Product life cycle

Some types of products go through a cycle consisting of five stages:

product development. The company finds and implements new idea goods. At this time, sales volume is zero, costs rise.
bringing the product to market. There is no profit due to high costs for marketing activities, sales volume is growing slowly
rapid market penetration, increased profits
maturity. Sales growth is slowing down, since the bulk of consumers have already been attracted. The level of profit remains unchanged or decreases due to increased costs of marketing activities to protect the product from competition
decline Decline in sales and reduction in profits.

Michael Porter's theory

This theory introduces the concept of country competitiveness. It is national competitiveness, from Porter’s point of view, that determines success or failure in specific industries and the place that a country occupies in the world economic system. National competitiveness is determined by the capacity of industry. At the heart of the explanation competitive advantage The role of the home country lies in stimulating renewal and improvement (that is, in stimulating the production of innovations). Government measures to maintain competitiveness:

government influence on factor conditions;
government influence on demand conditions;
government impacts on related and supporting industries;
government influence on firm strategy, structure, and competition.

Rybczynski's theorem

The theorem states that if the value of one of the two factors of production increases, then in order to maintain constant prices for goods and factors it is necessary to increase the production of those products that intensively use this increased factor, and reduce the production of other products that intensively use the fixed factor. In order for the prices of goods to remain constant, the prices of factors of production must remain constant. Factor prices can remain constant only if the ratio of factors used in two industries remains constant. In the case of an increase in one factor, this can only occur with an increase in production in the industry in which this factor is intensively used, and a reduction in production in another industry, which will lead to the release fixed factor, which will become available for use along with a growing factor in the expanding industry.

Stolper-Samuelson theorem

In 1941, American economists P. Samuelson and W. Stolper improved the Heckscher-Ohlin model of foreign trade, imagining that in the case of homogeneity of production factors, identical technology, perfect competition and complete mobility of goods, international exchange equalizes the price of production factors between countries. The authors base their concept on Ricardo's model with additions from Heckscher and Ohlin and view trade not just as a mutually beneficial exchange, but also as a means to reduce the development gap between countries.

Dynamics of international trade development

About 60% of world GDP comes from services, the majority of which are not internationally traded (education, health care, public administration, wholesale and retail). These are the so-called non-tradable services, i.e., services that do not participate in international trade. Share of merchandise exports in world GDP, from which services not involved in world trade are subtracted, is significantly more than in total world GDP (by some estimates, almost about half).
(World economy in the age of globalization / O. T. Bogomolov. M., 2007. P. 15.)

WITH early XIX V. before 1914, the volume of world trade increased almost a hundredfold.

Since the second half of the 20th century, when international exchange, as defined by M. Pebro, becomes “explosive,” world trade has been developing at a fast pace. The WTO states that in recent decades the volume of world trade has been growing much faster than all world production. So, for 1950-2000. world trade increased 20 times, and production - 6 times. In 1999, total exports accounted for 26.4% of world production, compared with 8% in 1950. During the period 1950-1998. world exports increased 16 times. According to Western experts, the period between 1950 and 1970 can be characterized as a “golden age” in the development of international trade. In the 70s, world exports fell to 5%, falling further in the 80s. In the late 80s he showed a noticeable revival. Since the second half of the 20th century, uneven dynamics of foreign trade have become evident. In the 90s Western Europe- the main center of international trade. Its exports were almost 4 times higher than US exports. By the end of the 80s, Japan began to become a leader in terms of competitiveness. During the same period, the “new industrial countries” of Asia - Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan - joined it. However, by the mid-90s, the United States again took a leading position in the world in terms of competitiveness. Before the 2007–2008 crisis, on average, world trade grew by 6% annually during the 1990–2000s. Exports of goods and services in the world in 2007, according to the WTO, amounted to 16 trillion US dollars. The share of the goods group is 80%, and services 20% of the total trade volume in the world. The annual turnover of trade in goods and raw materials by 2012 is about $20 trillion. According to the UNCTAD report (2013), the growth rate of world trade in goods and services, after a rapid recovery in 2010, fell again to 5% in 2011 and to less than 2% in 2012.

On modern stage international trade plays an important role in the economic development of countries, regions, and the entire world community:

foreign trade has become a powerful factor in economic growth;
countries' dependence on international trade has increased significantly.

Main factors influencing the growth of international trade:

development of the international division of labor and internationalization of production;
activities of transnational corporations.

INCOTERMS

All conditions are grouped into four categories for ease of understanding:

“E” is a condition that imposes minimal obligations on the seller: the seller must only make the goods available to the buyer at the agreed place - usually at the seller’s own premises
- EXW. Ex Works (specified location): goods from the seller's warehouse.
"F" - a condition requiring the seller to deliver the goods for carriage in accordance with the buyer's instructions
- FCA. Free Carrier (designated location): the product is delivered to the customer's carrier.
- F.A.S. Free Alongside Ship (loading port specified): the goods are delivered to the customer’s ship.

International trade - this is a specific, separate sector of the state’s economy associated with the sale of parts of GNP on the world and national markets (national, partial, one country).

international trade - this is the sphere of international commodity-money relations, uniting foreign trade relations of national economies, this is the totality of foreign trade of all countries of the world (international, general, many countries).

Product – this is any tangible and transportable property moved across the border

Features of international trade in goods

usually involves the goods crossing the borders of countries

occupies 80% of international economic resources and 25% of world production of goods

mediates almost all other forms of MEO

its development is pushed by the development of international capital movements and international production cooperation

Commodity trade structure

1. By directions:

Export- sales of goods to foreign market, providing for its export abroad.

Import– import and purchase on the domestic market of goods produced abroad.

Re-export- export abroad of previously imported foreign goods that have not undergone any processing in the re-exporting country.

Re-import- import from abroad of previously exported domestic goods that have not been processed there.

Countertrade– foreign trade transactions that provide in single agreements for reciprocal obligations of exporters and importers to purchase goods from each other, an indispensable condition of which is the exporter’s obligation to accept certain goods of the buyer as payment for his delivery (for the full cost or part of it) or to organize their acquisition by a third party ( barter, commercial and industrial compensation transactions)

Barter- an operation for the direct exchange of an agreed quantity of one product for another product without the use of a monetary form of payment, formalized by a single agreement (contract), in which the assessment of goods (services) is carried out in order to create conditions for the equivalence of the exchange

Trade compensation transaction– unlike a barter transaction, it involves payment for mutual supplies independently of each other

Industrial compensation deal– assumes that one party supplies the second party with goods, services and (or) technologies used by the latter to create production facilities and produce finished products, after which the second party reimburses these supplies finished products produced in the production facilities thus established or through the supply of similar products manufactured by third parties in the country concerned

2. By object: raw materials, components, finished products, machinery and equipment

3. The nature: intersectoral, intrasectoral

4. International trade in services: essence, types, classification

Service

an activity that is not embodied in a material product, but always manifests itself in some useful effect that its consumer receives

a change in the position of an institutional unit that has occurred as a result of and on the basis of mutual agreement with another institutional unit

Features of services

intangibility and invisibility

immateriality, immateriality

impossibility of storage

absence until the transaction

continuity of production and consumption over time, even with the involvement of intermediaries

heterogeneity or variability of quality

Types of trade in services

(by delivery and delivery methods)

- cross-border trade- through cross-border flows, when neither the seller nor the buyer physically crosses the border (41%);

- consumption abroad- through the movement of the buyer to the seller’s country (20%, tourism, treatment, education abroad);

- moving individuals - movement of the seller to the buyer’s country (1%);

- commercial presence- through the movement of a commercial organization to provide services to the buyer’s country, which is associated with FDI (38%).

WTO classification of services

160 types of services divided into 12 main sections

Business services - 46 types

Communication services (communication) - 25 types

Construction and engineering services - 5 types

Distribution services - 5 types

Educational services - 5 types

Security services environment- 4 types

Financial services - 17 types

Health services and social services- 4 types

Tourism and travel related services - 4 types

Recreational, cultural and sports services - 5 types

Transport services - 33 types

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

…………………...……3

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

……………………………………….….….6

3. Structure and main 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. Foreign exchange 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 trade turnover, between all countries of the world. However, the concept of “international trade” is also used in a narrower sense. It denotes, for example, the total trade turnover of industrialized countries, the total trade turnover of developing countries, the total trade turnover of countries of a continent, region, for example, countries of Eastern Europe, etc.

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

1.2. Main stages in the development of world trade

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

In the 20th century world trade has experienced a number of deep crises. The first of them was associated with the world war of 1914-1918, it led to a long and deep disruption of world trade that lasted until the end of the Second World War, which shook the entire structure of international economic relations to the core. 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. In general, a characteristic feature of the post-war period was a noticeable acceleration in the pace 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 became “explosive,” world trade has been developing at a high pace. In the period 1950-1994. world trade turnover increased 14 times. According to Western experts, the period between 1950 and 1970 can be characterized 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 in constant prices) increased 2.5 times, the average annual growth rate was 9.0%, in 1991-1995. this figure was 6.2%. The volume of world trade increased accordingly. Recently, this figure has been growing by 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. At the end of the 1980s, world exports showed a noticeable recovery (up to 8.5% in 1988). After a clear decline in the early 90s, in the mid-90s it again demonstrates high, stable rates, even despite significant annual fluctuations caused first by the September 11 terrorist attacks in the United States, and then by the war in Iraq and the resulting surges in world prices for energy resources.

For now, developing countries mainly remain suppliers of raw materials, food and relatively simple finished goods to the world market. However, the growth rate of trade in raw materials lags noticeably 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 intensification of their processing. Industrialized countries have almost completely captured the market for high-tech products. At the same time, some developing countries, primarily “newly industrialized countries,” have managed to achieve significant changes 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 90s amounted to 16.3%. Now this figure is already approaching 25%.

1.3. Key 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 basic 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 the 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 import of goods and services from abroad into a country. Import material assets for their sale on the domestic market - visible import. Imports of components, semi-finished products, etc. constitute indirect imports. Costs in foreign currency for cargo transhipment, 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 rate;

growth rates relative to production growth;

the growth rate of world trade relative to previous years.

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

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

Firstly, this indicator characterizes the production productivity of a country, that is, the amount of goods and services that it can provide to the world market over a certain period of time. Secondly, it can be used to assess the overall level of development of the state’s productive forces from the perspective 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, determine its goals, laws, advantages and disadvantages. Below are the most common theories of international trade.

Mercantilist theory. Within the framework of this theory it was believed that main goal Each state has wealth, and the world has limited wealth, and increasing the wealth of one country is possible only by reducing 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 disadvantage of this theory is that here the development of countries is seen as possible only through the redistribution of wealth, and not through its increase.

A. Smith's theory of absolute advantage. 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 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 it does not take into account transport costs and the impact of foreign trade on the distribution of income within the country, acting only under conditions of full employment.

Heckscher-Ohlin theory of the ratio of production factors. Operates with the concepts of factor intensity (the ratio of the costs of production factors to create a product) and factor saturation (the provision of production factors). According to this theory, each country exports those factor-intensive goods for the production of which it has a relative surplus of factors of production, and imports those for the production of which it has a relative shortage of factors of production. This theory deduces 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 the same technologies are considered and internal factors are not taken into account.

Leontief's paradox. The famous economist Vasily Leontiev, studying the structure of US exports and imports in 1956, discovered that, contrary to the Heckscher-Ohlin theory, relatively more labor-intensive goods predominated in exports, and capital-intensive goods predominated in imports. This result became known as Leontief's paradox.

Thus, with the development of the concept of “international trade”, its content became more complex, although to date it has not yet been possible to create a theory that would best correspond to practice.

3. Structure and main flows of world trade

Considering 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 world trade turnover was accounted for by food, raw materials and fuel, then by the end of the century they accounted for 1/4 of trade turnover. 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-90s was trade in machinery and equipment.

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

International trade is a system of international commodity-money relations, consisting of foreign trade of all countries of the world. International trade arose during the emergence of the world market in the 16th-18th centuries. Its development is one of the important factors in the development of the world economy of the New Age.

The term international trade was first used in the 12th century by the Italian economist Antonio Margaretti, author of the economic treatise “Power of the Popular Masses in Northern Italy.”

Advantages of countries participating in international trade:

the intensification of the reproduction process in national economies is a consequence of increased specialization, the creation of opportunities for the emergence and development of mass production, an increase in the level of equipment utilization, and an increase in the efficiency of the introduction of new technologies;
an increase in export supplies entails an increase in employment;
international competition creates the need to improve enterprises;
export earnings serve as a source of capital accumulation aimed at industrial development.

Theories of international trade

The development of world trade is based on the benefits it brings to the countries participating in it. The theory of international trade gives an idea of what is the basis of this gain from foreign trade, or what determines the directions of foreign trade flows. International trade serves as a tool through which countries, by developing their specialization, can increase the productivity of existing resources and thus increase the volume of goods and services they produce and improve the level of well-being of the population.

Many famous economists have dealt with international trade issues. Basic theories of international trade - Mercantilist theory, A. Smith's theory of absolute advantage, D. Ricardo and D. S. Mill's theory of comparative advantage, Heckscher-Ohlin theory, Leontief paradox, Theory life cycle goods, M. Porter's Theory, Rybczynski's Theorem, and Samuelson and Stolper's Theory.

Mercantilist theory. Mercantilism is a system of views of economists of the 15th-17th centuries, focused on the active intervention of the state in economic activity. Representatives of the direction: Thomas Maine, Antoine de Montchretien, William Stafford. The term was proposed by Adam Smith, who criticized the works of mercantilists. The mercantilist theory of international trade arose during the period of initial accumulation of capital and great geographical discoveries, and was based on the idea that the presence of gold reserves was the basis for the prosperity of a nation. Foreign trade, the mercantilists believed, should be focused on obtaining gold, since in the case of simple commodity exchange, ordinary goods, once used, cease to exist, and gold accumulates in the country and can be used again for international exchange.

Trading was viewed as a zero-sum game, where the gain of one participant automatically means the loss of another, and vice versa. To obtain maximum benefits, it was proposed to strengthen government intervention and control over the state of foreign trade. The trade policy of the mercantilists, called protectionism, was to create barriers in international trade that protect domestic producers from foreign competition, stimulate exports and limit imports by introducing customs duties on foreign goods and receiving gold and silver in return for their goods.

The main provisions of the Mercantilist theory of international trade:

the need to maintain an active trade balance of the state (excess of exports over imports);
recognition of the benefits of bringing gold and other precious metals into the country in order to improve its welfare;
money is a stimulus for trade, since it is believed that an increase in the supply of money increases the volume of the commodity supply;
protectionism aimed at importing raw materials and semi-finished products and exporting finished products is welcomed;
restrictions on the export of luxury goods, as it leads to the outflow of gold from the state.

Adam Smith's theory of absolute advantage. In his work “An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations,” in a polemic with mercantilists, Smith formulated the idea that countries are interested in the free development of international trade because they can benefit from it regardless of whether they are exporters or importers. Each country must specialize in the production of that product where it has an absolute advantage - a benefit based on different amounts of production costs in individual countries participating in foreign trade. Refusal to produce goods for which countries do not have absolute advantages, and the concentration of resources on the production of other goods lead to an increase in overall production volumes and an increase in the exchange of products of their labor between countries.

Adam Smith's theory of absolute advantage suggests that a country's real wealth consists of the goods and services available to its citizens. If a country can produce a particular good more and cheaper than other countries, then it has an absolute advantage. Some countries can produce goods more efficiently than others. The country's resources flow into profitable industries because the country cannot compete in unprofitable industries. This leads to an increase in the country's productivity as well as the skill of the workforce; Long periods of producing homogeneous products provide incentives for the development of more efficient work methods.

Natural advantages for a particular country: climate; territory; resources. Acquired advantages for a particular country: production technology, that is, the ability to produce a variety of products.

The theory of comparative advantage by D. Ricardo and D. S. Mill. In his work “Principles of Political Economy and Taxation” Ricardo showed that the principle of absolute advantage is only a special case general rule, and substantiated the theory of comparative (relative) advantage. When analyzing the directions of development of foreign trade, two circumstances should be taken into account: firstly, economic resources - natural, labor, etc. - are distributed unevenly between countries, and secondly, the efficient production of various goods requires various technologies or combinations of resources.

The advantages that countries have are not given once and for all, D. Ricardo believed, therefore even countries with absolutely higher levels of production costs can benefit from trade exchanges. It is in the interests of each country to specialize in production in which it has the greatest advantage and the least weakness and for which not absolute, but relative benefit is the greatest - this is D. Ricardo’s law of comparative advantage. According to Ricardo, the total volume of output will be greatest when each product is produced by the country in which the opportunity costs are lower. Thus, comparative advantage is a benefit based on lower opportunity costs in the exporting country. Hence, as a result of specialization and trade, both countries involved in the exchange will benefit. An example in this case would be the exchange of English cloth for Portuguese wine, which brings benefits to both countries, even if the absolute costs of production of both cloth and wine are lower in Portugal than in England.

Subsequently, D.S. Mill, in his work “Foundations of Political Economy,” explained the price at which exchange is carried out. According to Mill, the price of exchange is set by the laws of supply and demand at such a level that the totality of each country's exports allows it to pay for the totality of its imports - this is the law of international value.

Heckscher-Ohlin theory. This theory of scientists from Sweden, which appeared in the 30s of the twentieth century, refers to the neoclassical concepts of international trade, since these economists did not adhere to the labor theory of value, considering capital and land productive, along with labor. Therefore, the reason for their trade is the different availability of factors of production in countries participating in international trade.

The main provisions of their theory boiled down to the following: firstly, countries have a tendency to export those goods for the production of which the factors of production available in abundance in the country are used, and, conversely, to import goods for the production of which relatively rare factors are needed; secondly, in international trade there is a tendency to equalize “factor prices”; third, the export of goods can be replaced by the movement of factors of production across national borders.

The neoclassical concept of Heckscher-Ohlin turned out to be convenient for explaining the reasons for the development of trade between developed and developing countries, when in exchange for raw materials coming to the developed countries, machinery and equipment were imported into developing countries. However, not all phenomena of international trade fit into the Heckscher-Ohlin theory, since today the center of gravity of international trade is gradually shifting to mutual trade of “similar” goods between “similar” countries.

Leontief's paradox. These are studies by an American economist who questioned the provisions of the Heckscher-Ohlin theory and showed that in the post-war period the US economy specialized in those types of production that required relatively more labor rather than capital. The essence of Leontiev's paradox was that the share of capital-intensive goods in exports could grow, while labor-intensive goods could decline. In fact, when analyzing the US trade balance, the share of labor-intensive goods did not decrease. The solution to Leontief's paradox was that the labor intensity of goods imported by the United States is quite high, but the price of labor in the value of the product is much lower than in US exports. The capital intensity of labor in the United States is significant, together with high labor productivity this leads to a significant impact on the price of labor in export supplies. The share of labor-intensive supplies in US exports is growing, confirming the Leontief paradox. This is due to the growth in the share of services, labor prices and the structure of the US economy. This leads to an increase in the labor intensity of the entire American economy, not excluding export.

Product life cycle theory. It was put forward and substantiated by R. Vernoy, C. Kindelberger and L. Wels. In their opinion, a product, from the moment it appears on the market until it leaves it, goes through a cycle consisting of five stages:

product development. The company finds and implements a new product idea. At this time, sales volume is zero, costs rise.
bringing the product to market. There is no profit due to high costs for marketing activities, sales volume is growing slowly;
rapid market penetration, increased profits;
maturity. Sales growth is slowing down, since the bulk of consumers have already been attracted. The level of profit remains unchanged or decreases due to increased costs of marketing activities to protect the product from competition;
decline Decline in sales and reduction in profits.

M. Porter's theory. This theory introduces the concept of country competitiveness. It is national competitiveness, from Porter’s point of view, that determines the success or failure in specific industries and the place that a country occupies in the world economic system. National competitiveness is determined by the capacity of industry. At the heart of the explanation of a country's competitive advantage is the role of the home country in stimulating renewal and improvement (that is, in stimulating the production of innovation). Government measures to maintain competitiveness:

government influence on factor conditions;
government influence on demand conditions;
government impacts on related and supporting industries;
government influence on firm strategy, structure, and competition.

A serious incentive to success in the global market is sufficient competition in the domestic market. Artificial dominance of enterprises using state support, from Porter’s point of view, is a negative decision that leads to waste and inefficient use of resources. The theoretical premises of M. Porter served as the basis for developing recommendations at the state level to increase the competitiveness of foreign trade goods in Australia, New Zealand and the USA in the 90s of the twentieth century.

Rybczynski's theorem. The theorem states that if the value of one of the two factors of production increases, then in order to maintain constant prices for goods and factors it is necessary to increase the production of those products that intensively use this increased factor, and reduce the production of other products that intensively use the fixed factor. In order for the prices of goods to remain constant, the prices of factors of production must remain constant. Factor prices can remain constant only if the ratio of factors used in two industries remains constant. In the case of growth of one factor, this can only occur if production in the industry in which that factor is intensively used is increased and production in another industry is reduced, which will lead to the release of the fixed factor, which will become available for use along with the growing factor in the expanding industry .

Samuelson and Stolper theory. In the middle of the 20th century. (1948), American economists P. Samuelson and V. Stolper improved the Heckscher-Ohlin theory, imagining that in the case of homogeneity of production factors, identical technology, perfect competition and complete mobility of goods, international exchange equalizes the price of production factors between countries. The authors base their concept on Ricardo's model with additions from Heckscher and Ohlin and view trade not just as a mutually beneficial exchange, but also as a means to reduce the development gap between countries.

Development and structure of international trade

International trade is a form of exchange of labor products in the form of goods and services between sellers and buyers of different countries. The characteristics of international trade are the volume of world trade turnover, the commodity structure of exports and imports and its dynamics, as well as the geographical structure of international trade. Export is the sale of goods to a foreign buyer and their export abroad. Import is the purchase of goods from foreign sellers with their import from abroad.

Modern international trade is developing at a fairly high pace. Among the main trends in the development of international trade, the following can be identified:

1. There is a preferential development of trade in comparison with sectors of material production and the entire world economy as a whole. Thus, according to some estimates, during the period from the 50s to the 90s of the 20th century, the world's GDP grew approximately 5 times, and merchandise exports - no less than 11 times. Accordingly, if in 2000 the world's GDP was estimated at $30 trillion, then the volume of international trade - exports plus imports - was $12 trillion.

2. In the structure of international trade, the share of manufacturing products is growing (up to 75%), of which more than 40% are engineering products. Only 14% is fuel and other raw materials, the share of agricultural products is about 9%, clothing and textiles are 3%.

3. Among the changes in the geographical direction of international trade flows, there is an increasing role of developed countries and China. However, developing countries (mainly due to the emergence of new industrial countries with a pronounced export orientation from among them) managed to significantly increase their influence in this area. In 1950, they accounted for only 16% of world trade turnover, and by 2001 - already 41.2%.

Since the second half of the 20th century, uneven dynamics of foreign trade have become evident. In the 1960s, Western Europe is the main center of international trade. Its exports were almost 4 times higher than US exports. By the end of the 1980s, Japan began to become a leader in terms of competitiveness. During the same period, the “new industrial countries” of Asia - Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan - joined it. However, by the mid-1990s, the United States took a leading position in the world in terms of competitiveness. Exports of goods and services in the world in 2007, according to the WTO, amounted to 16 trillion. US dollars. The share of the goods group is 80%, and services - 20% of the total trade volume in the world.

4. The most important area of development of foreign trade is intra-company trade within TNCs. According to some data, intra-company international deliveries account for up to 70% of all world trade, 80–90% of sales of licenses and patents. Since TNCs are the most important link in the world economy, world trade is at the same time trade within TNCs.

5. Trade in services is expanding, in several ways. The first is cross-border delivery, such as distance learning. Another way of supplying services - consumption abroad - involves the movement of the consumer or the movement of his property to the country where the service is provided, for example, the service of a guide on a tourist trip. The third method is a commercial presence, for example, the operation of a foreign bank or restaurant in the country. And the fourth way is the movement of individuals who are service providers abroad, for example, doctors or teachers. The leaders in trade in services are the most developed countries of the world.

Regulation of international trade

Regulation of international trade is divided into government regulation and regulation through international agreements and the creation of international organizations.

Methods government regulation International trade can be divided into two groups: tariff and non-tariff.

1. Tariff methods come down to using customs duties– special taxes imposed on products of international trade. Customs tariffs are fees levied by the state for processing the transportation of goods and other valuables abroad. This fee, called duty, is taken into account in the price of the product and is ultimately paid by the consumer. Customs taxation involves the use of import duties to hinder the import of foreign goods into the country; export duties are used less frequently.

According to the form of calculation, duties are distinguished:

a) ad valorem, which are charged as a percentage of the price of the product;

b) specific, charged in the form of a certain amount of money per volume, weight or unit of goods.

The most important goals of using import duties are both direct restriction of imports and restriction of competition, including unfair competition. Its extreme form is dumping - the sale of goods on the foreign market at prices lower than those existing for an identical product on the domestic market.

2. Non-tariff methods are diverse and represent a set of direct and indirect restrictions on foreign economic activity through an extensive system of economic, political and administrative measures. These include:

quotas (provisioning) - the establishment of quantitative parameters within which it is possible to carry out certain foreign trade operations. In practice, quotas are usually established in the form of lists of goods, the free import or export of which is limited to a percentage of the volume or value of their national production. When the quantity or amount of the contingent is exhausted, the export (import) of the corresponding product is terminated;
licensing – issuing special permits (licenses) to business entities to conduct foreign trade operations. It is often used in conjunction with quotas to control license-based quotas. In some cases, the licensing system acts as a type of customs taxation applied by a country to generate additional customs revenue;
embargo – a ban on export-import operations. It may extend to certain group goods or be introduced in relation to individual countries;
currency control is a restriction in the monetary sphere. For example, a financial quota may limit the amount of currency an exporter can receive. Quantitative restrictions may apply to the volume of foreign investment, the amount of foreign currency exported by citizens abroad, etc.;
taxes on export-import transactions - taxes as non-tariff measures that are not regulated by international agreements, such as customs duties, and are therefore levied on both domestic and foreign goods. State subsidies for exporters are also possible;
administrative measures that are mainly related to restrictions on the quality of goods sold on the domestic market. National standards occupy an important place. Failure to comply with country standards may lead to a ban on the import of imported products and their sale on the domestic market. Similarly, the system of national transport tariffs often creates advantages in paying for the transportation of goods to exporters compared to importers. In addition, other forms of indirect restrictions can also be used: the closure of certain ports and railway stations for foreigners, orders to use a certain share of national raw materials in the production of products, a ban on the purchase government organizations imported goods if there are national analogues, etc.

The high importance of MT for the development of the world economy has led to the creation by the world community of special international regulatory organizations, whose efforts are aimed at developing rules, principles, procedures for carrying out international trade transactions and monitoring their implementation by member states of these organizations.

A special role in regulating international trade is played by multilateral agreements operating within the framework of:

GATT (General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade);
WTO();
GATS (General Agreement on Trade in Services);
TRIPS (Transfer Agreement) trade aspects intellectual property rights);

GATT. In accordance with the fundamental provisions of the GATT, trade between countries should be carried out on the basis of the most favored nation principle (MFN), i.e., most favored nation (MFN) treatment is established in the trade of GATT member countries, guaranteeing equality and non-discrimination. However, at the same time, exceptions from the PNB were established for countries included in economic integration groups; for countries, former colonies, which are in traditional ties with the former metropolises; for cross-border and coastal trade. According to the most rough estimates, “exceptions” account for at least 60% of global trade in finished goods, which deprives the PNB of universality.

GATT recognizes customs tariffs as the only acceptable means of regulating the transport industry, which are reduced iteratively (from round to round). Currently, their average level is 3-5%. But even here there are exceptions that allow the use of non-tariff means of protection (quotas, export and import licenses, tax breaks). These include cases of application of programs to regulate agricultural production, disturbances in the balance of payments, and the implementation of regional development and assistance programs.

GATT contains the principle of refusing unilateral actions and making decisions in favor of negotiations and consultations if such actions (decisions) could lead to a restriction of free trade.

GATT - the predecessor of the WTO - made its decisions at negotiation rounds of all members of this Agreement. There were eight of them in total. The most significant decisions that guide the WTO in regulating MT to date were made at the last (eighth) Uruguay round (1986-1994). This round further expanded the range of issues regulated by the WTO. It included trade in services, as well as a program to reduce the amount of customs duties, intensify efforts to regulate the MT products of certain industries (including Agriculture) and strengthening control over those areas of national economic policy that affect the country’s foreign trade.

It was decided to escalate customs duties as the degree of processing of goods increases while reducing duties on raw materials and eliminating them for some types alcoholic drinks, construction and agricultural equipment, office furniture, toys, pharmaceutical products - only 40% of world imports. Liberalization of trade in clothing, textiles and agricultural products continued. But the last and only means of regulation is customs duties.

In area anti-dumping measures the concepts of “legal subsidies” and “acceptable subsidies” were adopted, which included subsidies aimed at protecting the environment and regional development provided that their size is at least 3% of the total value of imports of goods or 1% of its total value. All others are classified as illegal and their use in foreign trade is prohibited.

Among the issues of economic regulation that indirectly affect foreign trade, the Uruguay Round included requirements for the minimum export of goods produced in joint ventures, the mandatory use of local components, and a number of others.

WTO. The Uruguay Round decided to create the WTO, which became the successor to the GATT and retained its main provisions. But the decisions of the round supplemented them with the tasks of ensuring free trade not only through liberalization, but also through the use of so-called links. The meaning of the links is that any government decisions to increase the tariff are made simultaneously (in conjunction) with the decision to liberalize the import of other goods. The WTO is not within the scope of the UN. This allows it to pursue its own independent policy and control over the activities of participating countries in compliance with adopted agreements.

GATS. The regulation of international trade in services has certain specifics. This is due to the fact that services, characterized by extreme diversity of forms and contents, do not form a single market that would have common features. But it has general trends that make it possible to regulate it at the global level, even taking into account new aspects in its development that are introduced by TNCs that dominate it and monopolize it. Currently, the global services market is regulated at four levels: international (global), industry (global), regional and national.

General regulation at the global level is carried out within the framework of the GATS, which came into force on January 1, 1995. Its regulation uses the same rules that were developed by the GATT in relation to goods: non-discrimination, national treatment, transparency (openness and uniformity of reading of laws), non-application of national laws to the detriment of foreign producers. However, the implementation of these rules is complicated by the peculiarities of services as goods: the absence of a material form for most of them, the coincidence of the time of production and consumption of services. The latter means that regulating the terms of trade in services means regulating the conditions for their production, and this in turn means regulating the conditions for investment in their production.

The GATS consists of three parts: a framework agreement defining general principles and rules for regulating trade in services; special agreements acceptable to individual service industries, and a list of obligations of national governments to eliminate restrictions in service industries. Thus, only one level, the regional level, falls outside the scope of GATS activities.

The GATS agreement is aimed at liberalizing trade in services and covers the following types: services in the field of telecommunications, finance and transport. Issues of export sales of films and television programs are excluded from the scope of its activities, which is due to the fears of individual states (European countries) of losing the identity of their national culture.

Industry regulation of international trade in services is also carried out on a global scale, which is associated with their global production and consumption. Unlike the GATS, the organizations regulating such services are of a specialized nature. For example, civil aviation is regulated by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), foreign tourism by the World Tourism Organization (WTO), shipping- International Maritime Organization (IMO).

The regional level of international trade in services is regulated within the framework of economic integration groupings, in which restrictions on mutual trade in services are lifted (as, for example, in the EU) and restrictions on such trade with third countries can be introduced.

The national level of regulation concerns foreign trade in services of individual states. It is implemented through bilateral trade agreements, integral part which may be trade in services. A significant place in such agreements is given to the regulation of investments in the service sector.

Source - World Economy: tutorial/ E.G.Guzhva, M.I.Lesnaya, A.V.Kondratiev, A.N.Egorov; SPbGASU. – St. Petersburg, 2009. – 116 p.