international trade

international trade

Table of Contents

Introduction
Historical overview
- Mercantilism
- Liberalism
- Resurgence of protectionism
- The “new” mercantilism
The theory of international trade
- Comparative-advantage analysis
  - Simplified theory of comparative advantage
  - Amplification of the theory
- Sources of comparative advantage
  - Natural resources
  - Factor endowments: the Heckscher-Ohlin theory
  - Economies of large-scale production
  - Technology
  - The product cycle
State interference in international trade
- Methods of interference
  - Tariffs
    - How tariffs work
    - Measuring the effects of tariffs
  - Nontariff barriers
  - Protectionism in the less-developed countries
- Arguments for and against interference
  - Revenue
  - Economic development
    - Protection of domestic industry
    - The infant-industry argument
  - Unemployment
  - National defense
  - Autarky
  - The terms-of-trade argument
  - Balance-of-payments difficulties
Contemporary trade policies
- Trade agreements
  - Bilateral trade agreements
    - Reciprocity
    - The most-favoured-nation clause
    - The “national treatment” clause
  - Multilateral agreements after World War II
    - The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade
    - The World Trade Organization
    - The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
- Economic integration
  - Forms of integration
  - Intranational integration
    - The United States
    - Switzerland
  - Integration of colonial empires
  - The Zollverein
  - The Benelux Economic Union
  - The European Coal and Steel Community
    - The constitution of the community
    - Later developments
  - The European Economic Community
    - Formation of a customs union
    - Development of a common agricultural policy
    - Toward a harmonization of policies
  - The European Union
    - The European Community
    - EU institutions
    - New members
  - The European Free Trade Association
    - Operation of EFTA
    - EFTA’s record
  - Comecon
  - Economic integration in Latin America
    - The Central American Common Market
    - The Latin American Free Trade Association and the Latin American Integration Association
    - The Andean Group and the Andean Community of Nations
    - The Caribbean Community
  - The Association of South East Asia and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations
  - The North American Free Trade Agreement
  - Regional arrangements and WTO rules
Patterns of trade
- Degrees of national participation
- Trade among developed countries
- Trade between developed and developing countries

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international trade

Also known as: foreign trade

Written by Maurice Allais, Romney Robinson, Trent J. BertrandSee All

Fact-checked by The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Last Updated: May 4, 2023 • Article History

cargo ship

Key People:: Kangxi Hugo Grotius Jean-Baptiste Colbert Saʿīd ibn Sulṭān Millard Fillmore

Related Topics:: beggar-thy-neighbor policy hemispheric integration comparative advantage Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Trade labour theory of value

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international trade, economic transactions that are made between countries. Among the items commonly traded are consumer goods, such as television sets and clothing; capital goods, such as machinery; and raw materials and food. Other transactions involve services, such as travel services and payments for foreign patents (see service industry). International trade transactions are facilitated by international financial payments, in which the private banking system and the central banks of the trading nations play important roles. International trade and the accompanying financial transactions are generally conducted for the purpose of providing a nation with commodities it lacks in exchange for those ...(100 of 18000 words)

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