International trade - what is it? Definition, functions and types. International trade in goods and services

international trade - this is the exchange of goods and services between sellers and buyers of different countries, mediated by the exchange of currencies. From the point of view of a separate national economy, international trade takes the form foreign trade - a set of exchange operations of goods and services of a particular country with other countries of the world.

International trade consists of two basic counter flows: export export and sale of goods (provision of services) abroad and import - purchases and imports of goods (receipt of services) from abroad. Special varieties of import and export are re-export and re-import. Re-export - this is the export of goods previously imported from abroad that have not been processed in this country, as well as goods sold at international auctions, commodity exchanges, etc. Reimport - this is the import from abroad of goods previously exported from the country without any processing in the foreign country.

Objects international trade is products (end products for industrial and non-industrial purposes, semi-finished products, raw materials, fuel, etc.) and services (business, financial, computer, information, transport, tourism, etc.).

Subjects international trade are:

Direct buyers and sellers of goods and services, which are represented by states, legal entities and individuals;

Resellers - firms and institutions that contribute to the acceleration of the sale of goods;

International and intergovernmental organizations that form the institutional environment and provide economic and legal regulation of trade.

Methods of international trade

In international practice, there are two main methods of implementation export-import operations - trade without intermediaries and trade through intermediaries. Each of the methods has its own advantages and disadvantages.

The direct conclusion of a transaction between the seller and the buyer allows you to save on the payment for the services of an intermediary, reduces the risk of losses from possible dishonesty or incompetence. Direct contacts can contribute to a better orientation of sellers to the changing requirements of buyers and to make the necessary changes in the characteristics of the product, etc. networks, the maintenance of lawyers for the preparation of agreements, transportation and customs formalities, etc. If the costs of direct trade exceed the benefits from it, it is advisable to resort to the services of intermediaries.

Both legal entities and individuals can act as resellers, on a commercial basis they search for foreign partners, prepare documentation for signing contracts, provide financial services, transportation, storage, insurance of goods, after-sales service, etc. The participation of intermediaries, first of all, frees producers from the sale of goods, increases the efficiency of sales and, by reducing distribution costs, increases the profitability of foreign economic operations. Typically, specialized intermediaries are more responsive to changes market conditions, which also improves trading efficiency.

In the practice of international trade, there are the following types intermediary operations:

- dealerships, in which the intermediary trading company buys the goods from the manufacturer reselling them, acting on its own behalf and at its own expense, and bears all the risks of loss or destruction of the goods; sale of goods under dealer agreements is carried out distributors;

- Commission, in which the reseller sells and buys goods on his own behalf, but at the expense and on behalf of the guarantor, in an agreement with which the technical and commercial terms of the sale and purchase are specified and the amount of the commission is determined;

- agency, in which the intermediary acts on behalf of the principal and at his expense; agent-representatives carry out marketing research, advertising and PR campaigns, organize business contacts with importers, government and other organizations on which the placement of orders depends; agent-attorneys have the right, on the basis of a commission agreement, to conclude transactions on behalf of the principal;

- brokerage, for which trading companies or individuals bring sellers and buyers together, coordinate their proposals, conclude transactions at the expense of the principal, acting on his behalf, and on his own.

A special place among international trade intermediaries is occupied by institutional intermediaries - commodity exchanges, auctions and tenders.

International commodity exchanges are permanent wholesale markets where the sale and purchase of homogeneous goods with clear and stable quality characteristics corresponding to the unified standardization system. In terms of legal form, most exchanges are joint-stock companies closed type. Based on the range of goods, exchanges are divided into universal and specialized. The largest in terms of volume of transactions are universal exchanges, where a wide range of various goods is bought and sold. For example, on the Chicago Board of Trade (more than 40% of the volume of US agreements), wheat, corn, oats, soybeans, soybean oil, gold, securities. On specialized exchanges, goods of a narrow range are bought and sold, for example, on the London Metal Exchange, non-ferrous metals are traded - copper, aluminum, nickel, etc.

The sale of exchange goods is mainly carried out without their delivery to the exchange, according to samples or standard descriptions. In fact, the commodity exchange does not sell goods as such, but contracts for their supply. Transactions with real goods make up an insignificant share of the total volume of exchange transactions (12%). Depending on the delivery time, they are divided into transactions with immediate delivery ("spot"), when the goods from the exchange warehouse are transferred to the buyer within 15 days after the conclusion of the contract, and transactions with the delivery of goods on a certain date in the future at the price fixed at the time of the conclusion of the contract (forward transactions). The vast majority of exchange transactions are futures transactions. Unlike transactions for real goods, futures contracts provide for the purchase and sale of rights to goods at a price that is set at the time of the transaction between the seller and the buyer (or their brokers) on the exchange.

Exchange futures perform an important function of insuring the risks of losses from changes in the prices of real goods - hedging. The hedging mechanism is based on the fact that changes in market prices for real goods and for futures are the same in size and direction. Therefore, if one of the parties to the transaction loses as a seller of a real commodity, then it wins as a buyer of a futures contract for the same amount of goods, and vice versa. Let's assume that the manufacturer copper wire signed a contract for the supply of a certain amount of it in 6 months. She needs 3 months to complete the order. It is unprofitable to buy copper 6 months before the order is completed: it will be stored in a warehouse for 3 months, which will require storage costs and additional interest on a loan for its purchase. At the same time, postponing its purchase is also risky, as the market price of copper may rise. With this in mind, the firm buys a futures contract for the required amount of copper. Let the quotation of the futures be 95.2 thousand dollars with the price of the real commodity being 95.0 thousand dollars. After 3 months, copper has risen in price, which also caused an increase in the price of the futures: the same amount of copper now costs 96.0 thousand dollars, and futures - 96.2 thousand dollars. Buying copper as a real commodity for 96.0 thousand dollars, the company loses 10 thousand dollars. But it sells futures at 96.2 thousand dollars and thereby wins 10 thousand. dollars. Thus, the company has insured itself against losses due to price increases and will be able to get the planned profit.

International auctions are a form of public sale of goods based on price competition among buyers. The subject of auctions are goods that have pronounced individual properties - furs, tea, tobacco, spices, flowers, racehorses, antiques, etc. Preparation for the auction trades provides for the formation of lots - batches of goods of uniform quality, each of which is assigned a number. Under this number, the lot, indicating the characteristics of the goods, is entered in the auction catalog. The general rule of all auctions is that the seller is not responsible for the quality of the goods (the buyer himself sees the goods and knows what he is buying). Auction sales are held on a predetermined day and hour in a specially equipped room. The auctioneer announces the lot number, its initial price, and the buyers make their offers regarding the price. The lot is sold to the highest bidder. The vast majority of auctions are carried out exactly according to this scheme, which is called the "English auction". In some countries, a price reduction method is used, which is called the "Dutch auction": the auctioneer announces the highest price of the lot and, in the absence of those who want to purchase goods at this price, begins to gradually reduce until the item is sold. The most famous are tea auctions in Calcutta (India), Colombo (Sri Lanka), Jakarta (Indonesia), auctions for the sale of antiques - Sotheby and Christie in London, auctions for the sale of fur in Copenhagen (Norway) and St. Petersburg (Russia) .

International bidding (tenders) It is also a competitive form of buying and selling goods, in which buyers announce a competition for sellers to supply goods with certain technical and economic characteristics. International tenders are the most common way of placing orders for the construction of industrial and non-industrial facilities, the supply of machinery and equipment, the performance of research and design work, they are also used to select a foreign partner when creating a joint venture. All interested companies can take part in open tenders, in closed tenders only those that have received an invitation to participate, usually these are suppliers or contractors known on the world market. The buyers establish a tender committee, which includes representatives of the buying organization, as well as technical and commercial experts. After comparing the received offers, the winner of the auction is determined, who offered the goods on more favorable terms for the buyer and according to which the buyer signs the contract.

The most expressive modern trends in the development of international tender trade are an increase in the number of participants, an increase in the number of tenders for the construction of complex facilities, for new types of machinery, equipment, new technologies, engineering and consulting services, a significant reorientation of priorities from price factors to non-price factors (the possibility of obtaining loans for preferential terms, the possibility of further placing orders and long-term cooperation, political factors and etc.).

International trade is a system of international commodity-money relations, consisting of the foreign trade of all countries of the world. International trade arose in the process of the emergence of the world market in the XVI-XVIII centuries. Its development is one of the important factors in the development of the world economy of modern times.

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

Benefits of participating countries in international trade:

• the intensification of the reproduction process in national economies is a consequence of increased specialization, creating opportunities for the emergence and development of mass production, increasing the degree of equipment workload, and increasing the efficiency of introducing new technologies;
• an increase in export deliveries entails an increase in employment;
• international competition necessitates the improvement of 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 direction of foreign trade flows. International trade serves as a tool through which countries, by developing their specialization, can increase the productivity of available resources and thus increase the volume of goods and services they produce, improve the welfare of the population.

Many well-known economists dealt with international trade issues. The main theories of international trade - Mercantilist theory, A. Smith's Theory of absolute advantages, D. Ricardo's and D. S. Mill's Theory of comparative advantages, Heckscher-Ohlin theory, Leontief's Paradox, Theory life cycle goods, M. Porter's Theory, Rybchinsky's Theorem, as well as Samuelson's and Stolper's Theory.

Mercantilist theory. Mercantilism is a system of views of economists of the XV-XVII 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 the mercantilists. The mercantilist theory of international trade arose during the period of primitive accumulation of capital and the great geographical discoveries, based on the idea that the presence of gold reserves is the basis of the prosperity of the nation. Foreign trade, the mercantilists believed, should be focused on obtaining gold, since in the case of a simple commodity exchange, ordinary goods, being used, cease to exist, and gold accumulates in the country and can be reused for international exchange.

Trading was considered as a zero-sum game, when the gain of one participant automatically means the loss of the other, and vice versa. To obtain the maximum benefit, it was proposed to increase state 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 restrict imports by imposing 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 attracting gold and other precious metals to the country in order to increase its well-being;
• money is an incentive for trade, since it is believed that an increase in the mass of money increases the volume of the mass of commodities;
• welcome protectionism aimed at importing raw materials and semi-finished products and exporting finished products;
• restriction on the export of luxury goods, as it leads to the leakage 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 the mercantilists, Smith formulated the idea that countries are interested in the free development of international trade, since they can benefit from it regardless of whether they are exporters or importers. Each country should specialize in the production of the product where it has an absolute advantage - a benefit based on different amounts of production costs in individual countries participating in foreign trade. The refusal to produce goods in which countries do not have absolute advantages, and the concentration of resources on the production of other goods lead to an increase in total production volumes, 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 any country can produce this or that product more and cheaper than other countries, then it has an absolute advantage. Some countries may produce goods more efficiently than others. The country's resources flow into profitable industries, as the country cannot compete in unprofitable industries. This leads to an increase in the productivity of the country, as well as the skills work force; long periods of production of homogeneous products provide incentives for the production of more effective methods work.

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

The theory of comparative advantages of D. Ricardo and D. S. Mill. In his Principles of Political Economy and Taxation, Ricardo showed that the principle of absolute advantage is only a special case of the 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 unevenly distributed among countries, and secondly, the efficient production of various goods requires different technologies or combinations of resources.

The advantages that countries have are not given once and for all, D. Ricardo believed, therefore, even countries that have absolutely more high levels production costs can benefit from trade exchange. 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 - such is the law of comparative advantage of D. Ricardo. According to Ricardo, total output will be greatest when each good is produced by the country that has the lowest opportunity (opportunity) costs. Thus, a relative advantage is a benefit based on lower opportunity (opportunity) costs in the exporting country. Hence, as a result of specialization and trade, both countries participating in the exchange will benefit. An example in this case is the exchange of English cloth for Portuguese wine, which benefits both countries, even if the absolute costs of production of both cloth and wine in Portugal are lower than in England.

Subsequently, D.S. Mill, in his work “The Foundations of Political Economy”, gave explanations at what price the 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 aggregate of each country's exports pays for the aggregate of its imports—such 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 to be productive along with labor. Therefore, the reason for their trade is the different availability of factors of production in the countries participating in international trade.

The main provisions of their theory boiled down to the following: firstly, countries tend to export those goods for the manufacture of which the factors of production available in the country are used in excess, and, conversely, to import goods, the production of which requires relatively rare factors; secondly, in international trade there is a tendency to equalize "factorial prices"; thirdly, 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 machinery and equipment were imported into developing countries in exchange for raw materials coming to developed 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 the 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 shows that in post-war period the US economy specialized in those types of production that required relatively more labor than capital. The essence of Leontief's paradox was that the share of capital-intensive goods in exports could grow, while the share of labor-intensive goods could decrease. In fact, when analyzing the US trade balance, the share of labor-intensive goods did not decrease. The resolution of 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 cost of goods 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 deliveries. The share of labor-intensive supplies in US exports is growing, confirming Leontief's paradox. This is due to the growth in the share of services, labor costs and the structure of the US economy. This leads to an increase in the labor intensity of the entire American economy, not excluding exports.

Theory of the product life cycle. It was put forward and substantiated by R. Vernoy, Ch. Kindelberger and L. Wels. In their opinion, the product from the moment it enters 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. During this time, sales are zero and costs rise.
• bringing the product to market. There is no profit due to the high costs of marketing activities, sales volume is growing slowly;
• quick market conquest, increase in profits;
• maturity. Sales growth is slowing down, as the bulk of consumers have already been attracted. The level of profit remains unchanged or decreases due to an increase in the cost of marketing activities to protect the product from competition;
• decline. Decline in sales and shrinking profits.

Theory of M. Porter. This theory introduces the concept of a country's competitiveness. It is national competitiveness, according to Porter, that determines the success or failure in specific industries and the place that the country occupies in the world economy. National competitiveness is determined by the ability of the industry. At the heart of explaining a country's competitive advantage is the home country's role in stimulating renewal and improvement (that is, in stimulating the production of innovations). Government measures to maintain competitiveness:

• government impact on factor conditions;
• government influence on demand conditions;
• government impact on related and supporting industries;
• government influence on the strategy, structure and rivalry of firms.

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

Rybchinsky's theorem. The theorem consists in the assertion that if the value of one of the two factors of production increases, then in order to maintain a constant price 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 the rest of the 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 unchanged. The prices of factors of production can only remain constant if the ratio of the factors used in the two industries remains constant. In the case of an increase in one factor, this can only happen if there is an increase in production in the industry in which this factor is intensively used, and a decrease in production in another industry, which will lead to the release of a fixed factor, which will become available for use along with a growing factor in an expanding industry. .

Theory of Samuelson and Stolper. In the middle of the XX century. (1948), American economists P. Samuelson and V. Stolper improved the Heckscher-Ohlin theory, imagining that in the case of the homogeneity of production factors, the identity of technology, perfect competition and full mobility of goods, international exchange equalizes the price of factors of production between countries. The authors base their concept on the Ricardian model with the additions of Heckscher and Ohlin and consider trade not just as a mutually beneficial exchange, but also as a means to reduce the gap in the level of development between countries.

Development and structure of international trade

International trade is a form of exchange of products of labor 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, 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 with its export abroad. Import - purchase from foreign sellers of goods with its import from abroad.

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

1. There is a predominant development of trade in comparison with the branches of material production and the entire world economy as a whole. Thus, according to some estimates, over the period of the 1950s–1990s, the world's GDP increased by about 5 times, and commodity exports by at least 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 - 3%.

3. Among the changes in the geographical direction of international trade flows, there is an increase in the role of developed countries and China. However, developing countries (mainly due to the promotion 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, and by 2001 - already 41.2%.

Since the second half of the 20th century, the uneven dynamics of foreign trade has manifested itself. In the 1960s, Western Europe was the main center of international trade. Its exports were almost 4 times those of the United States. By the end of the 1980s, Japan began to emerge as a leader in terms of competitiveness. In the same period, it was joined by the "new industrial countries" of Asia - Singapore, Hong Kong Taiwan. However, by the mid-1990s, the United States was taking the world's leading position in terms of competitiveness. Export of goods and services in the world in 2007, according to the WTO, amounted to 16 trillion. USD. The share of the group of goods is 80%, and services - 20% of the total volume of trade in the world.

4. The most important direction in the development of foreign trade is intracompany 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, and in several ways. Firstly, this is a cross-border supply, for example, distance learning. Another mode of supply of services, consumption abroad, involves the movement of the consumer or the transfer of his property to the country where the service is provided, for example, the service of a guide on a tourist trip. The third way is a commercial presence, such as 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 most developed countries of the world are the leaders in trade in services.

Regulation of international trade

The regulation of international trade is divided into state regulation and regulation through international agreements and the creation of international organizations.

Methods of state regulation of international trade can be divided into two groups: tariff and non-tariff.

1. Tariff methods are reduced to the use of customs duties - special taxes that are levied on products of international trade. Customs tariffs are a fee charged by the state for the clearance of goods and other valuables being transported abroad. Such a fee, called a duty, is included in the price of the goods and is ultimately paid by the consumer. Customs taxation involves the use of import duties to impede the importation of foreign goods into the country; export duties are less often used.

According to the form of calculation, fees are distinguished:

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

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

The most important purposes of using import duties are both the direct restriction of imports and the 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 the external economic activity through an extensive system of economic, political and administrative measures. These include:

• quotas (contingenting) - the establishment of quantitative parameters within which it is possible to carry out certain foreign trade operations. In practice, contingents 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 relevant product is terminated;
• licensing - issuance of special permits (licenses) to business entities for conducting 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 kind of customs taxation applied by the country to obtain additional customs revenues;
• embargo - a ban on export-import operations. It may apply to a specific group of goods or be introduced in relation to individual countries;
• currency control - 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, like customs duties, and therefore are levied on both domestic and foreign goods. Government subsidies for exporters are also possible;
• administrative measures, which are mainly related to restrictions on the quality of goods sold on the domestic market. An important place is occupied national standards. Failure to comply with the standards of the country may serve as a reason for the ban on the import of imported products and their sale on the domestic market. Similarly, a system of national transport tariffs often creates an advantage in paying freight to exporters over importers. In addition, other forms of indirect restrictions can also be used: the closure of certain ports and railway stations for foreigners, an order to use a certain share of national raw materials in the production of products, a ban on the purchase of imported goods by state organizations in the presence of 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 the implementation of international trade transactions and monitoring their execution by member states of these organizations.

A special role in the regulation of 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 (Treaty-Related Aspects of 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 (MFN) principle, i.e., the most favored nation treatment (MFN) is established in the trade of GATT member countries, guaranteeing equality and non-discrimination. However, at the same time, exceptions from the NSP were established for countries that are members of economic integration groups; for countries former colonies those who are in traditional ties with the former metropolises; for border and coastal trade. According to the most rough estimates, “exceptions” account for at least 60% of world trade in finished goods, which deprives PNP of universality.

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

GATT contains the principle of renunciation of unilateral actions and decision-making in favor of negotiations and consultations, if such actions (decisions) can lead to restriction of freedom of trade.

GATT - the predecessor of the WTO - made its decisions at the negotiations rounds of all members of this Agreement. There were eight in total. The most significant decisions that have guided the WTO in regulating the MT to date were taken 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 with the products of certain industries (including Agriculture) and strengthening control over those areas of national economic policy that have an impact on 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 certain types of alcoholic beverages, construction and agricultural equipment, office furniture, toys, pharmaceutical products - only 40% of world imports. The liberalization of trade in clothing, textiles and agricultural products continued. But customs duties are recognized as the last and only means of regulation.

In the field of anti-dumping measures, the concepts of “legitimate subsidies” and “eligible subsidies” were adopted, which include subsidies aimed at protecting environment and regional development provided that their size is not less than 3% of the total value of imports of goods or 1% of its total value. All the rest 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 a minimum export of goods produced at the joint venture, the mandatory use of local components, and a number of others.

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

GATS. Certain specifics are different regulation of international trade in services. This is due to the fact that services, characterized by an extreme variety of forms and content, do not form a single market that would have common features. But it has general tendencies that make it possible to regulate it at the global level, even taking into account the new moments 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), sectoral (global), regional and national.

General regulation at the global level is carried out within the framework of the GATS, which entered 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 (publicity and unity of reading laws), non-application of national laws to the detriment of foreign manufacturers. However, the implementation of these rules is hampered by the peculiarities of services as a commodity: the lack of a real form of most of them, the coincidence of the time of production and consumption of services. The latter means that the regulation of the terms of trade in services means the regulation of the conditions for their production, and this in turn means the regulation of the conditions for investing in their production.

The GATS consists of three parts: a framework agreement defining general principles and regulation of trade in services; special agreements acceptable to individual service industries; and a list of commitments by national governments to eliminate restrictions on service industries. Thus, only one level, the regional level, falls out of the field of activity of the GATS.

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

Sectoral regulation of international trade in services is also carried out on a global scale, which is associated with their global production and consumption. Unlike GATS, the institutions that regulate these services are specialized. For example, civil aviation is regulated by the Organization of the International civil aviation(ICAO), foreign tourism - the World Tourism Organization (WTO), shipping - the 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 may 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: textbook / E.G. Guzhva, M.I. Lesnaya, A.V. Kondratiev, A.N. Egorov; SPbGASU. - St. Petersburg, 2009. - 116 p.

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 technology 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, world production is understood as the volume of production of goods that consumers are willing to collectively purchase at the existing price level inside and outside the country, and aggregate supply- as the volume of production of goods that producers are willing to offer on the market at the current 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 global 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 they can unite big countries, thus strengthening its 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 value and physical terms, respectively, in US dollars and in physical terms (tons, meters, barrels, etc., if it is applied to a homogeneous group of goods), or in conventional physical terms, 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 systems classification of goods and services. 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 certain groups of countries, it varies from 15: 82 (for developed countries with market economy) (3% others) up 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 within 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 (the exchange of parts, assemblies, semi-finished products, finished items of one industry, for example, cars of 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 of economic crises, the coefficient of elasticity is lower than during periods of recession and recovery.

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 the export of finished products expands, but the growth in the export 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 balance of trade is an integral part of 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 occurs under the influence of general processes taking place in the world 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 by 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 economic and social infrastructure, the presence of a competent bureaucracy, a strong educational system, a sustainable policy of macroeconomic stabilization, quality, design, style of product design, timely delivery, and after-sales service are put forward in the foreground. 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 FDI, which enhances their technological leadership, competitiveness in the MR.

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 combination of factors, including chemical industry, changes in the fuel and energy balance and an unprecedented increase in oil prices, which at the end of the decade, compared with its beginning, more than doubled.

The share of science-intensive goods and high-tech products (microtechnical, chemical, pharmaceutical, aerospace, etc. products) is growing in the trade in finished goods. 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 the determining factor 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 diversification industrial production, the elimination of the technological backwardness of countries, which makes their exports of finished products uncompetitive, and the increase in 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.

International trade in goods and services

World market of goods and services is a system economic relations in the sphere of exchange that develops between subjects (states, enterprises engaged in foreign economic activity, financial institutions, regional blocs, etc.) regarding the sale and purchase of goods and services, i.e. objects of the world market.

As an integral system, the world market took shape by the end of the 19th century, simultaneously with the completion of the formation of the world economy.

The global market for goods and services has its own characteristics. The main thing is that transactions for the purchase and sale of goods and services are made by residents of various states; goods and services, moving from producer to consumer, cross borders sovereign states. The latter, implementing their foreign economic (foreign trade) policy, with the help of various tools (customs duties, quantitative restrictions, requirements for the compliance of goods with certain standards, etc.) have a significant impact on commodity flows both in terms of geographical orientation and sectoral accessories, intensity.

The regulation of the movement of goods on the world market is carried out not only at the level of individual states, but also at the level of interstate institutions - the World trade organization(WTO), European Union, North American Free Trade Agreement, etc.

All member countries of the World Trade Organization (as of August 24, 2012, there were 157 of them, Russia became the 156th) undertake the obligation to implement 29 major agreements and legal instruments, united by the term "multilateral trade agreements", covering over 90% of all world trade in goods and services.

Fundamental principles and rules of the WTO are:

· provision of the most favored nation treatment in trade on a non-discriminatory basis;

· mutual provision of national treatment for goods and services of foreign origin;

regulation of trade mainly by tariff methods;

Refusal to use quantitative restrictions;

• transparency of trade policy;

· resolution of trade disputes through consultations and negotiations.

International trade affects the state of the national economy by performing the following tasks :

1. Completing the missing elements of national production, which makes the "consumer basket" of economic agents of the national economy more diverse;

2. Transformation of the natural-material structure of GDP due to the ability of external factors of production to modify and diversify this structure;

3. Effect-forming function, i.e. the ability of external factors to influence the growth of the efficiency of national production, the maximization of national income with a one-time reduction in social necessary costs for its production.

Foreign trade operations purchase and sale of goods are the most common and traditional for international trade.

Purchase and sale transactions goods are divided into the following:

export;

import;

· re-export;

re-import;

countertrade.

Export operations involve the sale and export of goods abroad for their transfer to the ownership of a foreign counterparty.

Import operations- purchase and import of foreign goods for their subsequent sale in the domestic market of their country or consumption by the importing enterprise.

Re-export and re-import operations are a kind of export-import operations.

Re-export operation- this is the export abroad of previously imported goods that have not undergone any processing in the re-exporting country. Such transactions are most often encountered when selling goods at auctions and commodity exchanges. They are also used in the implementation of large projects with the participation of foreign firms, when the purchase of certain types of materials and equipment is carried out in third countries. In this case, as a rule, goods are sent to the country of sale without importing products to the country of re-export. Quite often, re-export operations are used to make a profit due to the difference in prices for the same product in different markets. In this case, the goods are also not imported into the re-exporting country.

A significant number of re-export operations are carried out on the territory of free economic zones. Goods imported into free economic zones are not subject to customs duties and are exempt from any duties, fees and taxes on import, circulation or production when exported for re-export. Customs duty is paid only when goods are moved across the customs border into the country.

Re-import operations involve the import from abroad of previously exported domestic goods that have not been processed there. These can be goods not sold at auction, returned from a consignment warehouse, rejected by the buyer, etc.

AT recent decades Qualitatively new processes in the organization and technique of international trade operations continue to develop actively. One such process was the widespread countertrade.

At the core counter trade is the conclusion of counter transactions that link export and import operations. An indispensable condition for counter transactions is the obligation of the exporter to accept as payment for its products (for its full value or part of it) certain goods of the buyer or arrange for their purchase by a third party.

There are the following forms of countertrade: barter, counter-purchase, direct compensation.

Barter- This is a natural, without the use of financial calculations, the exchange of a certain product for another.

Terms counter purchases the seller delivers the goods to the buyer on normal commercial terms and at the same time undertakes to purchase counter goods from him in the amount of a certain percentage of the amount of the main contract. Therefore, a counter purchase provides for the conclusion of two legally independent, but actually interconnected purchase and sale transactions. In this case, the primary contract includes a clause on the obligations of the purchase and liability in case of non-fulfillment of the purchase.

Direct Compensation involves the mutual supply of goods on the basis of one contract of sale or on the basis of a contract of sale and the agreements attached to it on counter or advance purchases. These transactions have an agreed mechanism of financial settlements in the presence of commodity and financial flows in each direction. Like barter transactions, they contain the obligation of the exporter to purchase goods from the importer. However, in compensation, in contrast to barter, deliveries are paid independently of each other. At the same time, financial settlements between the parties can be carried out both by transferring foreign currency and by settling mutual clearing claims.

In practice, the main incentive for concluding most offset transactions is the desire to avoid the transfer of foreign currency. To do this, a clearing form of settlement is used, in which, after the goods are dispatched by the exporter, their payment requirements are entered into a clearing account in the importer's country, and then satisfied through a counter delivery.

To analyze the dynamics of international trade in goods, indicators of the cost and physical volume of foreign trade are used. The value of foreign trade is calculated for a certain period of time at current prices of the analyzed years using current exchange rates. Actual volume of foreign trade calculated in constant prices and allows you to make the necessary comparisons and determine its real dynamics.

Along with international trade in goods, there is a widely developed and trade in services. International trade in goods and trade in services are closely related. When delivering goods abroad, more and more services are being provided, starting with market analysis and ending with the transportation of goods. Many types of services entering the international circulation are included in the export and import of goods. At the same time, international trade in services has some features compared to traditional trade in goods.

The main difference is that services usually do not have a materialized form, although a number of services acquire it, for example: in the form of magnetic media for computer programs, various documentation printed on paper. However, with the development and spread of the Internet, the need to use a material shell for services is significantly reduced.

Services, unlike goods, are produced and consumed mostly simultaneously and are not subject to storage. In this regard, the presence abroad of direct service providers or foreign consumers in the country of production of services is often required.

The concept of "service" includes a complex of diverse types of human economic activity, causing the existence of various options for classifying services.

International practice defines the following 12 service sectors, which, in turn, include 155 sub-sectors:

1. commercial services;

2. postal and communication services;

3. construction works and structures;

4. trading services;

5. services in the field of education;

6. environmental protection services;

7. services in the field of financial intermediation;

8. health and social services;

9. services related to tourism;

10. services for organizing recreation, cultural and sports events;

11. transport services;

12. other services not included anywhere.

In the system of national accounts, services are divided into consumer (tourism, hotel services), social (education, medicine), production (engineering, consulting, financial and credit services), distribution (trade, transport, freight).

The WTO focuses on the relationship between the producer and the consumer of services, highlighting four types of transactions in international trade in services :

A. From the territory of one country to the territory of another country (cross-border supply of a service). For example, sending information data to another country via telecommunications networks.

B. Consumption of a service in the territory of another country (consumption abroad) implies the need to move the buyer (consumer) of the service to another country in order to receive (consume) the service there, for example, when a tourist goes to another country for recreation.

B. Supply through commercial presence in the territory of another country (commercial presence) means the need to move factors of production to another country in order to provide services in the territory of that country. This means that a foreign service provider must invest in the country's economy, create a legal entity there in order to provide services. It's about, for example, about the creation or participation in the creation of banks, financial or insurance companies in the territory of another country.

D. Delivery through the temporary presence of natural persons in the territory of another country means that individual moves to another country in order to provide services in its territory. An example would be the services provided by a lawyer or consultant.

In conditions of a high degree of saturation of the world market with goods and tougher competition on it, services provided to the business sector, for example, engineering, consulting, franchising, etc., become important. Tourism, healthcare, education, culture and art have great export potential.

Let us briefly describe some of the types of services.

Engineering is an engineering and consulting service for the creation of enterprises and facilities.

The whole set of engineering services can be divided into two groups: firstly, services related to the preparation of the production process and, secondly, services to ensure the normal course of the production process and product sales. The first group includes pre-project services (exploration of minerals, market research, etc.), design services (drawing up master plan, project cost estimation, etc.) and post-project services (supervision and inspection of work, training of personnel, etc.). The second group includes services for the management and organization of the production process, inspection and testing of equipment, operation of the facility, etc.

Consulting is the process of providing the client with the special knowledge, skills and experience necessary for the implementation of professional activities.

Consulting services can be considered from the point of view of the subject of consulting and classified depending on the sections of management: general management, financial management, etc. Based on the method of consulting, for example, expert and training consulting are distinguished.

The services of consultants are intended for use by the management of companies, i.e. decision makers and those related to the activities of the organization as a whole. By attracting a consultant, the client expects to receive from him assistance in the development or reorganization of the business, expert opinions on some decisions or situations, and finally, just to learn or adopt certain professional skills from him. In other words, consultants are invited to remove the uncertainty that arises at different stages of the process of preparation, adoption and implementation of responsible decisions.

Franchising– a system for the transfer or sale of technology and trademark licenses. This type of service is characterized by the fact that the franchisor transfers not only exclusive rights based on a license agreement to the occupation entrepreneurial activity, but also covers assistance in training, marketing, management in exchange for financial compensation from the franchisee. Franchising as a business assumes that, on the one hand, there is a firm known in the market and having a high image, and on the other, a citizen, a small entrepreneur, a small firm.

Rent- a form of management in which, on the basis of an agreement between the lessor and the lessee, the latter are transferred to the latter for temporary paid possession and use of various objects necessary for independent management.

The subjects of lease may be land and other movable property, machinery, equipment, various durable goods.

Widespread in international commercial practice has become a long-term lease, called leasing.

For a leasing operation, the following scheme is most typical. The lessor concludes a lease contract with the lessee and signs a sales contract with the equipment manufacturer. The manufacturer transfers the leased item to the tenant. The leasing company, at its own expense or through a loan received from a bank, pays off the manufacturer and repays the loan from rental payments.

There are two forms of leasing: operational and financial. Operational leasing provides for the lease of equipment for a period that is shorter than the amortization period. In this case, the machinery and equipment are subject to a series of successive short-term lease agreements, and the full depreciation of the equipment occurs as a result of its successive use by several lessees.

Financial leasing provides for the payment during the period of its validity of amounts covering the full cost of the equipment, as well as the profit of the lessor. In this case, the leased equipment may not be repeatedly subject to lease agreements, since the lease term is usually set on the basis of its normal effective life. Such a rental operation is in many ways reminiscent of a regular foreign trade sale and purchase transaction, but on specific conditions similar to the forms of commodity lending.

Tourist services are widespread in modern conditions Kind of activity. International tourism covers the category of persons traveling abroad and not engaged in paid activities there.

Tourism can be classified according to various signs:

ü goal: route-cognitive, sports and health-improving, resort, amateur, festival, hunting, shop-tourism, religious, etc.;

ü form of participation: individual, group, family;

ü Geography: intercontinental, international, regional, according to seasonality - active tourist season, off-season, off-season.

A separate group of transactions for the purchase and sale of services represents operations for servicing the turnover. These include operations:

ü international transportation of goods;

ü Freight forwarding;

ü Cargo insurance;

ü cargo storage;

ü according to international settlements, etc.

International trade in goods (MTT), which appeared in ancient times and received additional impetus in connection with the formation of the world market, continues to be the leading form of international economic relations. It is a combination of exports and imports.

EXPORT OF GOODS (from lat. exportare - to export) - the export of goods from a given country for their sale in foreign markets. The concept of export includes both the goods themselves exported abroad and a transaction, that is, an action aimed at selling them to a foreign counterparty. Export items are goods produced in the country and goods previously imported from abroad (re-export).

Depending on the types of goods, there are several ways to export them. Raw and unprocessed foodstuffs are usually exported by specialized trading companies that pre-purchase goods from producers on their own behalf and from their own account. Manufacturers of manufactured goods such as equipment, ships, railway rolling stock and other specialized products usually export either through direct contact with the importer or through their network of representative offices and agency firms.

The most common method of exporting consumer goods is through department stores. In cases where the supply of consumer goods is carried out in small quantities, mail-order sales by mailing catalogs are used. Firms that steadily orient production towards exports usually tend to organize their own sales network abroad, for which they create foreign branches and subsidiaries, which are divided into foreign wholesale offices, enterprises retail, repair enterprises, service points.

In addition to manufacturers of export products, specialized foreign trade enterprises. They are divided into export-import firms and trading houses - enterprises that carry out foreign trade operations both from their own account and on a commission basis with a wide range of goods. In the first case, the firm first purchases goods from a national or foreign manufacturer, and then resells it on its own behalf. In the second case, trade is carried out at the expense and on behalf of the manufacturer or buyer. Export firms, unlike trading houses, are not of a universal nature, but specialize in the sale of a certain group of goods. The object of their trade is mainly consumer goods, mining, agriculture, as well as handicrafts. Agency firms, which are usually a legal entity of the importing country, sell goods of a foreign company exclusively on a commission basis. They operate on the basis of long-term agreements (agency contracts) with a foreign exporter and allow the latter to avoid the mediation of firms and the cost of creating their own distribution network.The firm receives a commission, which is usually charged to the seller in the amount of up to 10% of the transaction value.

IMPORT OF GOODS (from lat. importare - to import) - the import of goods from abroad for their sale in the domestic market of the importing country. The imports of one country always match the exports of another country. Imports are goods of foreign origin imported directly from the country of origin or intermediary country for the purpose of consumption or subsequent export from the country.

The structure of imports of material values ​​(visible imports) is determined by the characteristics of natural conditions, the structure of the country's economy and its role in the international division of labor. Countries primarily import those types of mineral, agricultural raw materials and foodstuffs that, due to natural conditions, cannot produce themselves.

In the imports of industrialized countries, the share of industrial goods, including machinery and equipment, is high, which is explained by the deepening of international specialization and cooperation in production. Developing countries, for which the import of machinery and equipment is extremely important for the industrialization of the economy, are at the same time forced to import certain types of foodstuffs due to the backwardness of agriculture.

Imports, to a greater extent than exports, are subject to state influence, which is especially intensified during periods of worsening economic conditions on world markets and an aggravation of the problem of the balance of payments. Imports are subject to customs duties, quantitative restrictions, licensing systems and other non-tariff barriers. In the context of the formation of the national economy and its transfer to market rails, the state uses the leverage of import restrictions to protect the interests of the national economy.

The sum of exports and imports of goods is called turnover. The ratio (difference) between a country's exports and its imports is the BALANCE OF TRADE. If exports exceed imports, then a "trade surplus" is formed. If imports exceed exports, then there is a foreign trade deficit, or "negative trade balance." The latter suggests that the export of goods is insufficient to pay for the import of goods. This deficit is financed either by foreign loans (by getting into debt) or by reducing one's own assets (export of gold, foreign currency, sale of land, real estate, etc.).

To analyze the dynamics of MTT, indicators of the cost and physical volume of foreign trade are used. The cost volume of foreign trade is calculated for a certain period of time at current prices of the analyzed years using current exchange rates. The physical volume of foreign trade is calculated at constant prices and allows making the necessary comparisons and determining its real dynamics.

The following factors can influence international commodity flows: scientific and technological progress, which changes the structure of world trade; liberalization of international trade; economic integration; active activity of transnational and international corporations in the world market; global crises, etc.