International trade, its indicators and dynamics. Dynamics and structure of modern international trade. Main indicators of world trade

The foreign trade of all countries together forms international trade, which is based on the international division of labor. Foreign trade is the exchange of a country with other countries, which includes paid export (export) and import (import) of goods and services. International trade is the sphere of international commodity-money relations for the exchange of products of labor (goods and services) between sellers and buyers from different countries. To characterize as international trade, and external indicators are used:

General turnover; - commodity structure; - geographic structure.

In theory, world trade is characterized by the following main indicators:
· Foreign trade turnover of countries, which is the sum of exports and imports;
Import is the importation of goods and services from abroad into the country. The import of material assets for their sale in the domestic market is a visible import. Imports of component parts, semi-finished products, etc. constitute indirect imports. The costs in foreign currency for transshipment of goods, passengers, travel insurance, technology and other services, as well as transfers of companies and individuals abroad are included in the so-called. invisible imports.
Export is the removal from the country of goods and services sold to a foreign buyer for sale on a foreign market, or for processing in another country. It also includes the transportation of goods in transit through a third country, the export of goods brought from other countries for sale in a third country, i.e. re-export.
In addition, international trade is characterized by the following indicators:

overall growth rate
· Growth rates relative to production growth;
· Growth rates of world trade relative to previous years.
The first of these indicators is determined by the ratio of the indicator of the volume of international trade of the year under review to the indicator of the base year. It can be used to characterize the percentage of changes in the volume of international trade over a certain period of time.
Attributing the rate of growth in international trade to the rate of growth in output is the starting point for identifying several characteristics that are important for describing the dynamics of international trade. Firstly, this indicator characterizes the productivity of production in the country, that is, the amount of goods and services that it can provide to the world market for a certain period of time. Secondly, it can be used to assess the overall level of development productive forces states from the standpoint of international trade.
The last of these indicators is the assignment of the volume of international trade in the current year to the value of the base year, and the base year is always taken as the previous year.

The indicators reflecting the country's participation in international trade are export and import quotas. The export quota is calculated as the ratio of exports of goods and services to GDP and shows what share of all products produced in the country are sold on the world market.

The import quota is calculated as the ratio of imports to the volume of domestic consumption of the country, which includes the totality of national production and import stocks, and shows what is the share of imported goods and services in domestic consumption.

To characterize the terms of trade of an individual country, group of countries or region in world trade, the terms of trade index is used, which expresses the ratio of the average export price index to the average import price index.

INCOTERMS are international rules recognized by government authorities, law firms and merchants around the world as an interpretation of the most applicable terms in international trade. The scope of Incoterms extends to the rights and obligations of the parties under the contract of sale in terms of the supply of goods.

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

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

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

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

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

Characteristics of international trade

A number of indicators are used to characterize international trade:

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

World trade

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

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

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

The volume is measured in 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 ones, for one reason or another (uncompetitive, strategically important for the country, etc.) do not move between countries. When talking about the commodity structure of world trade, we are talking only about tradable goods.

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

In world practice, various classification systems for goods and services are used. For example, merchandise trading uses the Standard International trade classification(UN) - SMTK, 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 (exchange of parts, assemblies, semi-finished products, finished items of one industry, for example, cars different brands, models) in the total volume of world trade. Its value is always in the range 0-1; the closer it is to 1, the deeper the international division of labor (MRI) in the world, the greater the role of the intra-industry division of labor in it. Naturally, its value will depend on how broadly the industry is defined: the wider it is, the higher the T coefficient.

A special place in the complex of indicators of world trade is occupied by those that allow us to assess the impact of world trade on the world economy. These include, first of all, the coefficient of elasticity of world trade. It is calculated as the ratio of the growth rates of physical volumes of GDP (GNP) and trade. Its economic content lies in the fact that it shows by how many percent the GDP (GNP) increased with an increase in trade turnover by 1%. The global economy is characterized by a tendency to strengthen the role of MT. For example, in 1951-1970. the coefficient of elasticity was 1.64; in 1971-1975 and 1976-1980 - 1.3; in 1981-1985 - 1.12; in 1987-1989 - 1.72; in 1986-1992 - 2.37. As a rule, during periods 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 exports expand. finished products, but the growth of exports of raw materials, as a rule, leads to a deterioration in the terms of trade for the exporting country. If, at the same time, exports are mono-commodity, then its growth can lead to the destruction of the economy, therefore such growth is called destructive. The result of this growth in exports is the lack of funds for its further increase, and the deterioration in the terms of trade in terms of profitability does not allow buying required amount import.

Trade balance

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

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

The development of modern MT 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 the economic and social infrastructure, the presence of a competent bureaucracy, a strong educational system, sustainable macroeconomic stabilization policy, quality, design, product style, timely delivery, after-sales service. As a result, there is a clear stratification of countries on the basis of technological leadership in the world market. Good luck accompanies those countries that have new competitive advantages, i.e., are technological leaders. They are a minority in the world, but they get most of the FDI, which enhances their technological leadership and competitiveness in the IR.

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

In the trade in finished goods, the share of knowledge-intensive goods is growing, high-tech products(microtechnics, chemical, pharmaceutical, aerospace, etc. products). 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.

INTRODUCTION

SECTION I. THEORETICAL FOUNDATIONS IN INTERNATIONAL TRADE RESEARCH

1.1. Theories of international trade

1.2. The history of the formation of international trade

1.3. Key indicators of international trade

SECTION II. MODERN TRENDS IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF INTERNATIONAL TRADE

2.1. Forms of international trade and their features at the present stage

2.2. The current state and dynamics of the development of international trade

2.3. Features of the structure of world trade at the present stage

2.4. Main problems of international trade

CONCLUSION

LIST OF USED SOURCES

APPENDIX A Quantitative characteristics of foreign trade of some countries of the world (including Ukraine) in 2004

APPENDIX B GATT negotiations

introduction

International trade is the most developed and widespread form of international economic relations. It occupies the main place among the modern foreign policy interests and problems of the countries of the world. Therefore, the study of its essence, dynamics of development and modern structure is an important element for determining foreign policy states of its development programs.

Based on this, we can formulate the following main goal of this course work, which is to determine the essence, study the dynamics and structure of international trade. This goal of the course work involves the following main tasks: the definition of the essence of world trade; study of the current state of world trade and trends in its development; determination of the features of the structure of world trade at the present stage; consideration of modern policy in relation to international trade.

Thus, in this term paper the object of research will be international trade itself, and the subject - the factors, dynamics of development and the structure of modern international trade.

The study of this topic has been and is being done almost constantly. This is necessary condition how is work individual organizations related to foreign trade, and the activities of each state in the implementation of its foreign policy and the development of medium and long-term development programs. Therefore, the monitoring of the state of international trade, as well as the processes of forecasting and planning, do not stop, which is reflected in the wide interest in this topic. On questions of international trade there are articles in all the literature on international economic relations without exception. We can single out the following authors: A. Smith, D. Ricardo and others, who shed light on the theoretical foundations of international trade most widely.

The application of analysis as a method of studying changes in international trade at the present stage involves consideration of two aspects: first, the rate of its growth in general (exports and imports) and relative to the growth of production; secondly, shifts in the structure: commodity (the ratio of the main groups of goods and services) and geographical (shares of regions, groups of countries and individual countries). The subject of the work itself involves the study of not only the quantitative characteristics of changes in international trade, but also the qualitative side of these changes. As a result of the analysis, using the synthesis method, conclusions will be drawn about the dynamics and structure of international trade. In accordance with the grouping method, groups of the main indicators of international trade, its forms will be formed, as well as its structure will be characterized.

Section I Theoretical basis international trade studies

1.1. Theories 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.

International trade includes the export and import of goods, the ratio between which is called the balance of trade. The UN statistical reference books provide data on the volume and dynamics of world trade as the sum of the value of exports of all countries of the world (see Table 1., Appendix A).

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

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

National production differences are determined by different endowment with production factors - labor, land, capital, as well as different internal needs for certain goods. The effect that foreign trade has on the dynamics of national income growth, consumption and investment activity is characterized for each country by quite definite quantitative dependencies and can be calculated and expressed in the form of a specially developed coefficient - a multiplier.

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

Mercantilist theory. Within the framework of this theory, it was believed that the main goal of each state is wealth, and the world has limited wealth, and an increase in the wealth of one country is possible only at the expense of 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 drawback of this theory is that here the development of countries is seen as possible only through the redistribution of wealth, and not through its growth.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

1.2. The history of the formation of international trade

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

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

In the XX century. World trade has gone through a series of deep crises. The first of these was associated with the World War of 1914-1918, it led to a long and deep disruption of world trade, which lasted until the end of World War II, which shook the entire structure of international economic relations to its foundations. In the post-war period, world trade faced new difficulties associated with the collapse of the colonial system. However, all these crises were overcome. On the whole, a characteristic feature of the post-war period was a noticeable acceleration in the rate of development of world trade, which reached the highest level in the entire previous history of human society. Moreover, the growth rate of world trade exceeded the growth rate of world GDP.

Since the second half of the 20th century, world trade has been developing at a rapid pace. In the period 1950-1994. world trade turnover increased 14 times. According to Western experts, the period between 1950 and 1970 can be described as a "golden age" in the development of international trade. Thus, the average annual growth rate of world exports was in the 50s. 6.0%, in the 60s. -8.2%. In the period from 1970 to 1991, the average annual growth rate was 9.0%, in 1991-1995. this figure was 6.2%. Accordingly, the volume of world trade also increased. Recently, this figure has been growing at an average of 1.9% per year.

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

Since the second half of the 20th century, the uneven dynamics of foreign trade has become noticeable. This affected the balance of power between countries in the world market. The dominance of the United States was shaken. In turn, Germany's exports approached the US, and in some years even exceeded it. In addition to Germany, exports of other Western European countries also grew at a noticeable pace. In the 1980s, Japan made a significant breakthrough in international trade. By the end of the 1980s, Japan began to emerge as a leader in terms of competitiveness factors. 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 once again taking a leading position in the world in terms of competitiveness. They are closely followed by Singapore, Hong Kong, as well as Japan, which previously ranked first for six years (see Table 1, Appendix A).

So far, the developing countries have mainly remained suppliers of raw materials, foodstuffs, and relatively simple finished products to the world market. However, the growth rate of trade in raw materials lags markedly behind the overall growth rate of world trade. This lag is due to the development of substitutes for raw materials, their more economical use, and the deepening of their processing. Industrialized countries have almost completely captured the market for high technology products. At the same time, some developing countries, primarily the "newly industrialized countries", have managed to achieve significant 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 1990s was 16.3%. now this figure is already approaching 25%.

1.3. Main indicators of world trade

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

• Foreign trade turnover of countries, which is the sum of exports and imports;
• Import is the importation of goods and services from abroad into the country. The import of material assets for their sale in the domestic market is a visible import. Imports of component parts, semi-finished products, etc. constitute indirect imports. The costs in foreign currency for transshipment of goods, passengers, travel insurance, technology and other services, as well as transfers of companies and individuals abroad are included in the so-called. invisible imports.
• Export is the removal from the country of goods and services sold to a foreign buyer for sale on a foreign market, or for processing in another country. It also includes the transportation of goods in transit through a third country, the export of goods brought from other countries for sale in a third country, i.e. re-export.

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

• overall growth rates;
• growth rates relative to production growth;
• growth rate of world trade relative to previous years.

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

Attributing the rate of growth in international trade to the rate of growth in output is the starting point for identifying several characteristics that are important for describing the dynamics of international trade. Firstly, this indicator characterizes the productivity of production in the country, that is, the amount of goods and services that it can provide to the world market for a certain period of time. Secondly, it can be used to assess the overall level of development of the productive forces of states from the standpoint of international trade.

The last of these indicators is the assignment of the volume of international trade in the current year to the value of the base year, and the base year is always taken as the previous year.

Section II. modern tendencies development of international trade

2.1. Forms of international trade and their features at the present stage

Wholesale. Main organizational form in the wholesale trade of countries with developed market economies - independent firms engaged in their own trade. But with the penetration of industrial firms into the wholesale trade, they created their own trading apparatus. Such are the wholesale branches of industrial firms in the USA: wholesale offices engaged in information services for various customers, and wholesale depots. Large German firms have their own supply departments, special bureaus or sales departments, wholesale warehouses. Industrial companies create subsidiaries to sell their products to firms and may have their own wholesale network.

An important parameter in wholesale trade is the ratio of universal and specialized wholesalers. The trend towards specialization can be considered universal: in specialized firms, labor productivity is much higher than in universal ones. Specialization goes to the commodity and functional (i.e., restriction of the functions performed by the wholesaler) feature.

Commodity exchanges occupy a special place in wholesale trade. They look like trading houses where they sell various goods, both wholesale and retail. Basically, commodity exchanges have their own specialization. Public exchange trading is based on the principles of a double auction, when increasing bids from buyers meet decreasing bids from sellers. When the prices of the offers of the buyer and the seller coincide, a deal is concluded. Each concluded contract is publicly registered and communicated to the public through communication channels.

Price change is determined by the number of sellers willing to sell a product at a given price level and buyers willing to purchase a given product at that price level. A feature of modern exchange trading with high liquidity is that the difference between the prices of offers for sale and purchase is 0.1% of the price level and lower, while on stock exchanges this figure reaches 0.5% of the price of shares and bonds, and on the markets real estate - 10% or more.

There are almost no real goods exchanges left in developed countries. But in certain periods, in the absence of other forms of market organization, exchanges of real goods can play a significant role. The institution of the exchange has not lost its significance for international trade, in connection with the transformation from the exchange of a real commodity into a market for the rights to goods, or into the so-called futures exchange.

Stock exchanges. Securities are traded on international money markets, that is, on the stock exchanges of such large financial centers as New York, London, Paris, Frankfurt am Main, Tokyo, Zurich. Securities are traded during business hours on the stock exchange, or the so-called stock time. Only brokers (brokers) can act as sellers and buyers on the stock exchanges, who fulfill the orders of their clients, and for this they receive a certain percentage of the turnover. For trading securities - stocks and bonds - there are so-called brokerage firms or brokerage houses.

At present, trading in securities both on the domestic and foreign markets is of great importance for the development of world trade as a whole. The volume of turnover within this form of international trade is steadily increasing, although it is strongly influenced by foreign policy factors.

Trade fairs. Fairs and exhibitions are one of the best ways to find contact between producer and consumer. At thematic fairs, manufacturers exhibit their goods on the exhibition space, and the consumer has the opportunity to choose, buy or order the goods he needs right on the spot. The fair is an extensive exhibition where stands with goods and services are distributed according to the subject, industry, purpose, etc.

In France, numerous industry exhibitions are organized by organizing societies, which in most cases do not have their own fair territories belonging to the chamber of commerce. . It mainly rents exhibition pavilions, but also acts as an organizer. At UK fairs, two large companies operating outside the country, Reed and Blenheim, stand out, the annual turnover of which ranges from 350 to 400 million euros. However, they also receive a significant part of their turnover outside the UK. According to official figures, about 30 percent of Italy's foreign trade is carried out through fairs, including 18 percent through Milan. It has 20 representative offices abroad. The share of foreign exhibitors and visitors averages 18 percent. Fairs in Germany as a whole occupy leading place in Europe. Recently, the annual turnover, for example, of the Berlin Fair has exceeded 200 million euros and has a steady upward trend.

The role of fairs in the future will not decrease, but, on the contrary, will increase. With the development of the international division of labor, which will be further deepened by the free exchange of goods in Europe. With some exceptions, visitors and participants of the European fairs were not interfered with or restricted in any way.

2.2. The current situation and trends in the development of international trade

As foreign trade statistics show, over the past decade and a half, there has been a stable and constant growth in world foreign trade turnover, exceeding the growth rate of GDP, which convincingly indicates that all countries are increasingly drawn into the system of the international division of labor. World exports more than doubled, up from $2 trillion. dollars In 1980 to 5.5 trillion. dollars in 2000. This means an increase in exports by more than 70% in the 80s and more than 65% in the 90s. import indicators are close to these values ​​(see Table 2.2.1).

Table 2.2.1.

Overall results of world trade billions of dollars

As can be seen from this table, the values ​​of exports and imports, and consequently the indicators of the trade turnover of the countries of the world, almost doubled over the decade from 1990 to 2000. But in view of the decline in the growth rate of world trade observed since 2000, the author of this textbook makes a forecast for a decrease in this indicator in 2006.

Table 2.2.2.

Forecast of changes in the volume of trade, % 2006/2005

Source: International economic relations: Textbook for universities / V.E. Rybalkin, Yu.A. Shcherbanin, L.V. Baldin and others; Ed. prof. V.E. Rybalkin. - 6th ed., revised. and additional – M.: UNITI-DANA, 2006, p. 176

This table, in confirmation of the foregoing about the decrease in the volume of trade, shows the forecasts of such a decrease in the indicator under consideration for various regions and countries of the world. At the same time, negative values ​​show the percentage of the decrease in turnover, positive values ​​show the percentage increase. Characteristically, for most of these countries and regions, changes, in whatever direction they take, occur synchronously.

According to WTO exporters, world trade increased by 15% in 2005, which is one of the highest figures in recent years. And this is despite the fact that in the early 2000s, the growth in world trade began to decline somewhat.

As for the growth rates of world trade, it can be stated that the stable outstripping growth rates of world trade are indicators of new qualitative features of international trade associated with an increase in the capacity of world markets. The outstripping, fairly high rates of expansion of trade in finished industrial products, and in them - machinery and equipment, even higher growth rates of trade in communications products, electrical and electronic equipment, computers, etc., have become characteristic. The volume of trade in components is expanding even faster , assemblies and assemblies delivered in order industrial cooperation within the TNC. And another dynamic phenomenon is the accelerated growth of international trade in services.

All this could not but affect the radical shifts in both the commodity and the geographical structure of world exchange. At the same time, the share of the main groups of developed, developing and former socialist countries has remained practically unchanged over the past 15-20 years. It was 70-76%, 20-24% and 6-8%, respectively. Now this ratio is beginning to change due to the entry of several post-socialist countries into the European Union, which was the reason for their economic growth, and the changes caused by this.

In the commodity exchange of world foreign trade, there is an obvious upward trend in the share of finished goods, which account for more than 70% of world trade. The remaining share is divided approximately equally between agricultural exports and extractive industries. For comparison, we can say that in the middle of the last century, raw materials accounted for about two thirds, and only one third - for finished products.

Services now account for almost a quarter of international trade. That is why various studies now pay special attention to the growth of world trade in services. Changes in world exports of services in recent years are shown in Table 2.2.3.

Table 2.2.3.

World export of services, billion dollars

Source: International economic relations: Textbook for universities / V.E. Rybalkin, Yu.A. Shcherbanin, L.V. Baldin and others; Ed. prof. V.E. Rybalkin. - 6th ed., revised. and additional - M.: UNITI-DANA, 2006, p.191

Thus, the total volume of services is about 25% of total world exports. When it comes to the distribution of the cost of services according to certain types, then highest value in world trade in services are tourism and transport. In addition, another trend is observed: exports are growing labor resources to developed countries from developing and, in particular, post-socialist ones.

2.3. Features of the structure of world trade at the present stage

Significant shifts have taken place in the structure of world trade: the share of finished goods has increased and the share of food and raw materials, except for fuel, has decreased. If in the 1950s the share of raw materials and fuels was approximately equal to the share of finished goods, by the beginning of the new century the share of raw materials, food and fuel had fallen to 30%, of which 25% were fuel and 5% were raw materials. At the same time, the share of finished products increased from 50% to 70%. Quantitative characteristics of the structure of world trade are presented in Table 2.3.

Table 2.3.

Structure of world trade in goods

Products	Total volume, billion dollars
Food Extractive industry: Minerals Non-ferrous metals Industrial: iron and steel Products of the chemical industry Other types of lower processing products Mechanical engineering and transport equipment: Automotive products Office and telecommunications Other types of transport equipment Textile industry products Other types of consumer goods

Source: International economic relations: Textbook for universities / V.E. Rybalkin, Yu.A. Shcherbanin, L.V. Baldin and others; Ed. prof. V.E. Rybalkin. - 6th ed., revised. and additional – M.: UNITI-DANA, 2006, p.598

The decrease in the share of raw materials in international trade is due to three main reasons: the expansion of the production of synthetic materials based on the development of the chemical industry, the greater use of domestic raw materials and the transition to resource-saving technologies. At the same time, trade in mineral fuels - oil, natural gas - has increased sharply as a result of the development of the chemical industry and changes in the structure of the fuel and energy balance.

If earlier in the international exchange of goods raw materials and final products prevailed, then in modern conditions the exchange of semi-finished products, intermediate forms of products, and individual parts of the final product acquires importance. The emergence of a powerful production apparatus of TNCs abroad, the establishment of stable cooperative ties between individual international links in technological chains have led to the fact that already about 1/3 of all imports and up to 3/5 of trade in machinery and equipment fall on intermediate products.

The reason for this phenomenon can be called the growth of specialization in conditions of scientific and technological revolution. Monopolies seek to reduce unit costs of production by raising the minimum and optimal sizes enterprises, achieving savings on large-scale batch production with extensive use of exports, since volumes domestic market do not allow a significant increase in production. According to studies, with a doubling of mass production, unit costs are reduced by 8-10%.

In the export of industrialized countries, the share of high-tech products is growing, which in the USA, Switzerland and Japan is over 20%, Germany and France - about 15%. The trade in microelectronic products is growing especially fast. In this position, China has recently begun to lead, where the annual increase in exports of such products in 2005 amounted to 29.7%. An important role in trade is acquired by the export and import of services, the so-called. "invisible exports". If in 1970 the volume of world exports of services was 80 billion dollars, then in 2004-2005. - about 1.5 trillion. dollars, i.e. more than 20% of the cost of goods sold. Services account for over 40% of US exports and 46% of UK exports.

With a decrease in the export of some traditional services (for example, transport), the export of services related to the application of scientific and technological achievements, with the introduction of computer technology, consulting, trade, intermediary and technical services, know-how, communication services, banking services is rapidly developing. , insurance agencies, etc.

An analysis of the directions of trade reveals what is growing at a faster pace mutual trade industrialized countries, which account for almost 60% of world exports. In turn, developing countries export about 70% of their export goods to industrial countries (of which China - 34%). As for the participants in trade, the trend of ousting medium and small exporters and importers from the world market is increasing. Foreign trade relations are concentrated within the framework of monopoly associations. Already in the 1980s, American exports related to the activities of TNCs accounted for 84% of all US exports and 60% of imports. A similar pattern is observed in other countries.

A characteristic feature of recent years is the barterization of foreign economic transactions - the growth of counter trade. Such "counter" transactions account for 20% to 30% of all world trade.

Along with legitimate trade practices, criminal forms of trade, smuggling, trade in goods with counterfeit trademarks(clothing, footwear, household appliances). The volume of such trade reaches 60 billion dollars a year.

In general, it can be noted that the very nature of the world market has changed over the past time. It no longer receives surpluses of domestic production, but pre-agreed deliveries to a specific buyer.

2.4. Main problems of international trade

International trade is a process of buying and selling between buyers, sellers and intermediaries in different countries. It is associated with many practical and financial difficulties for the firms involved in it. Along with the usual problems of trade and commerce that arise in any type of business, there are additional problems in international trade:

• time and distance – credit risk and contract execution time;
• changes in foreign exchange rates - currency risk;
• differences in laws and regulations;
• government regulations – exchange controls, and sovereign risk and country risk.

The main effect of exchange rate fluctuations on international trade is the risk for the exporter or importer that the value of the foreign currency they use in their trade will differ from what they hoped and expected.

Exposure to foreign currencies and currency risk can bring additional profits, not just losses. Businesses are looking for ways to minimize or eliminate exposure to foreign exchange in order to plan business operations and forecast profits more reliably. Importers seek to minimize exposure to foreign exchange for the same reasons. But, as with an exporter, importers prefer to know exactly how much they will have to pay in their currency. Exist various ways elimination of exposure to foreign currency, carried out with the help of banks.

In international trade, the exporter must invoice the buyer in a foreign currency (for example, in the currency of the buyer's country), or the Buyer must pay for the goods in a foreign currency (for example, in the currency of the exporter's country). It is also possible for the payment currency to be the currency of a third country: for example, a firm in Ukraine may sell goods to a buyer in Australia and ask for payment in US dollars. Therefore, one of the problems of the importer is the need to obtain foreign currency to make a payment, and the exporter may have the problem of exchanging the received foreign currency for the currency of his country.

Price imported goods for the buyer or the value of the export goods for the seller may be increased or decreased due to changes in exchange rates. Therefore, a firm that makes payments or earns income in foreign currencies has potential "currency risk" due to adverse changes in exchange rates.

The time factor is that it can take a very long time between submitting an application to a foreign supplier and receiving the goods. When the goods are delivered over a long distance, the bulk of the delay between the application and delivery, as a rule, is due to the length of the transportation period. Delays may also be caused by the need to prepare appropriate documentation for shipment. Time and distance create credit risk for exporters. The exporter usually has to provide credit for payment over a longer period of time than he would need if he were selling the goods domestically. In the presence of a large number of foreign debtors, it becomes necessary to obtain additional working capital for their funding.

Lack of knowledge and understanding of the rules, customs and laws of the country of the importer or exporter leads to uncertainty or distrust between buyer and seller, which can only be overcome after a long and successful business relationship. One way to overcome the difficulties associated with differences in customs and characters is to standardize the procedures for international trade.

Sovereign risk occurs when the sovereign government of a country:

• receives a loan from a foreign lender;
• becomes a debtor of a foreign supplier;
• issues a loan guarantee on behalf of a third party in their home country, but then either the government or the third party refuses to repay the loan and claims immunity from prosecution. The creditor or exporter will be powerless to collect the debt, since he will be prohibited from taking his claim through the courts.

Country risk arises when the buyer does everything in his power to pay off his debt to the exporter, but when he needs to receive this foreign currency, the authorities of his country either refuse to provide him with this currency or are unable to do so.

Government regulations regarding imports and exports can be a major barrier to international trade. There are such regulations and restrictions:

1. resolutions on currency regulation;
2. export licensing;
3. import licensing;
4. trade embargo;
5. import quotas;
6. government regulations regarding legal safety standards, and the quality or specifications of all goods sold domestically in that country, legal standards for health and hygiene, especially on food products; patents and trademarks; packaging of goods and the amount of information given on the packages;
7. the documentation required for customs clearing of imported goods can be very voluminous. Delays in customs clearing can be a significant factor in the overall problem of delays in international trade;
8. import duties or other taxes to pay for imported goods.

Foreign exchange regulations (i.e., a system for controlling the inflow and outflow of foreign currency into and out of a country) usually refer to extraordinary measures taken by a country's government to protect its currency, although the details of these regulations are subject to change.

Thus, at the moment, world trade still encounters many obstacles in its path. Although at the same time, in view of the general trend towards world integration, all kinds of trade and economic associations of states are being created to facilitate the implementation of international trade.

conclusion

The traditional and most developed form of international economic relations is foreign trade. Trade accounts for about 80 per cent of the current volume of international economic relations. Not a single country in the world has yet managed to create an economy without participating in international trade. In modern conditions, the country's active participation in world trade is associated with significant advantages: it allows more efficient use of the resources available in the country, join the world's achievements in science and technology, carry out structural restructuring of its economy in a shorter time, and also more fully and diversely meet the needs of population.

International trade is a consequence of the international division of labor and international specialization. This secures serious development prospects for it. In addition, world trade contributes to the deepening of the internationalization of production, international economic integration and globalization. Based on this, the study of its current position and consideration of the prospects for its development is necessary for building a foreign economic strategy both at the macro and micro levels. This means that not only states should have their own program of behavior on international market goods and services, but also the enterprises and organizations operating in this market must have a strategic concept of functioning and behavior in a changing environment.

Foreign trade, especially in countries with open economies, where the share of products sold on world markets is high, has a huge impact on the overall state of the economy. Deterioration of the conditions for the export of goods (price reduction, decrease in demand for them) or import (its rise in price) can lead to a drop in national production, a deterioration in the state of the balance of payments, and a depreciation of the national currency. The decline in the volume of foreign trade is especially hard on the situation of countries with a one-sided structure of exports and creates instability in their economies.

The dynamics of the development of international trade is characterized by a rapid growth in the volume of trade in the last decade. This is due to both the growth of the economic and scientific and technical potential of most states. At the same time, it is important to note the trend according to which the share of trade in finished products is growing in relation to the share of trade in raw materials and materials. In particular, the volume of trade in semi-finished products is also increasing. In the growing variety of forms of international trade, intracorporate trade of TNCs begins to occupy a significant position. This is primarily due to the strengthening of the position on international level the TNCs themselves, as well as the natural favorable position of related, but located in different countries, divisions.

Structural shifts taking place in the economies of countries under the influence of scientific and technological revolution, specialization and cooperation of industrial production contribute to the intensification of international trade. The volume of international trade, driving all international commodity flows, is growing faster than production. They are also growing relative to the previous ones, and at a faster pace. In addition, the structure of trade is also changing. Now trade in finished products prevails over trade in raw materials and materials. The geographical structure of international trade is also changing: the main trade turnover of developing countries is directed to developed countries, they, in turn, trade mostly among themselves, while reorienting more and more to the service market, developing the sphere international tourism. In addition, developing and post-socialist countries are expanding their labor exports.

A significant role in regulating foreign trade is played by the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), transformed on January 1, 1995 into the World Trade Organization, as well as various commodity agreements and intergovernmental trade agreements concluded on a bilateral basis.

Thus, summing up, we can say that in dynamics there is a rapid growth in the volume of international trade, and the share of finished products in it is steadily growing. The structure of international trade, both geographical and commodity, is constantly changing, representing at the moment a system of two elements: developed countries that trade mainly among themselves, and developing countries that supply their products to developed countries.

list of sources used

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Associate Professor A.S. Bulatov. – M.: BEK, 2004.

1. 21. Fairs of Europe // Abroad - 1993. No. 30. – p.10

Appendix A

Table 1.

Quantitative characteristics of foreign trade of some countries of the world (including Ukraine) in 2004

	Volume of foreign trade, mln. $	Place in terms of foreign trade volume	Export, million $	Import, million $
Germany
Great Britain
Netherlands
The Republic of Korea
Singapore
Malaysia

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Introduction

Conclusion

Introduction

International trade is historically and logically the first form of world economic relations in the world economy. And, despite the fact that in modern conditions the leading form of international economic relations is not the export of goods, but foreign investment, it accounts for 4/5 of the total volume of world economic relations. This is due, firstly, to its great importance for the development of national economies and, secondly, to its place in the system of international economic relations. Therefore, this topic is extremely relevant today.

1. Definition and general characteristics international trade

dynamics structure international trade

International trade is the sphere of international commodity-money relations for the exchange of products of labor (goods and services) between sellers and buyers from different countries.

Foreign trade-the exchange of a country with other countries, including paid export (export) and import (import) of goods and services. The term "foreign trade" is used to analyze the foreign trade turnover of a particular country.

To characterize both international trade and foreign trade, indicators are used:

General turnover;

commodity structure;

geographic structure.

Foreign trade turnover-the sum of the value of exports and imports of a country.

The value of foreign trade is calculated for a certain period of time at current prices of the respective years using current exchange rates.

The physical volume of foreign trade is calculated in constant prices and allows you to make the necessary comparisons and determine its real dynamics.

World trade turnover is calculated by summing up only the volumes of exports of all states, traditionally expressed in US dollars.

Accounting for export deliveries is carried out in the prices of ROV (free on board - free on board), which include all costs associated with the delivery of goods to the side of the ship and its passage over the ship's rail at the port of shipment.

Accounting for import deliveries is carried out in CIF prices (cost, insurance, freight - cost, insurance, freight), including the cost of goods, as well as the cost of cargo insurance in transit and its transportation (sea freight) to the port of destination.

2. Main forms of international trade

The main forms of international trade are the export and import of goods.

Depending on the origin and destination of the goods, exports are of the following types:

1) export of goods manufactured (produced and processed) in the given country;

2) export of raw materials and semi-finished products for processing abroad under customs control with subsequent return;

3) re-export - the export of goods previously imported from abroad, including goods sold at international auctions, commodity exchanges, etc.;

4) temporary export national goods abroad (to exhibitions, fairs, etc.) with subsequent return or export of previously imported foreign goods (to auctions, exhibitions, fairs, etc.);

5) export of products in the order of direct production relations, as well as deliveries within the framework of TNCs.

Classification of imports on the same basis includes the following types:

1) import from abroad of goods, technologies for sale on the importer's domestic market, as well as receiving paid services from a foreign counterparty for industrial and consumer purposes;

2) re-import - return import from abroad of national goods previously imported there;

3) import of raw materials, semi-finished products, assemblies, parts for processing in a given country and subsequent export abroad;

4) temporary importation of goods to international exhibitions, fairs, auctions;

5) import of products in the order of direct production relations and within the framework of TNCs.

The indicators reflecting the country's participation in international trade are export and import quotas.

The export quota is calculated as the ratio of exports of goods and services to GDP and shows what share of all products produced in the country are sold on the world market.

The import quota is calculated as the ratio of imports to the volume of domestic consumption of the country, which includes the totality of national production and import stocks, and shows what is the share of imported goods and services in domestic consumption.

To characterize the terms of trade of an individual country, group of countries or region in world trade, the terms of trade index is used, which expresses the ratio of the average export price index to the average import price index.

3. International trade in the system of international economic relations. Basic concepts of international trade

The traditional and most developed form of international economic relations is foreign trade. According to some estimates, trade accounts for about 80 percent of the total volume of international economic relations. Modern international economic relations, characterized by the active development of world trade, bring a lot of new and specific to the process of development of national economies.

For any country, the role of foreign trade can hardly be overestimated. According to J. Sachs, "... the economic success of any country in the world is based on foreign trade. No country has yet managed to create a healthy economy, isolated from the world economic system."

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

Structural shifts taking place in the economies of countries under the influence of the scientific and technological revolution, specialization and cooperation of industrial production enhance the interaction of national economies. This contributes to the intensification of international trade.

International trade, which mediates the movement of all intercountry commodity flows, is growing faster than production. According to research by the World trade organization For every 10% increase in world output, there is a 16% increase in world trade. This creates more favorable conditions for its development. When there are disruptions in trade, the development of production also slows down.

The choice of a policy of free trade (free trade) or protectionism in foreign trade, in their uncompromising version, was characteristic of the past centuries. Nowadays, these two approaches are interconnected and intertwined. But to an ever greater extent, the leading role of the principle of free trade is manifested in this contradictory unity.

For the first time, the policy of free trade was defined by A. Smith when he substantiated the "theory of comparative advantages" (production costs). A. Smith proved the necessity and importance of foreign trade, emphasizing that "the exchange is favorable for each country; each country finds an absolute advantage in it." A. Smith's analysis was the starting point of the classical theory, which serves as the basis for all types of free trade policies.

However, if A. Smith's reasoning is continued to the end, then we can come to the conclusion: if a particular country can find everything it needs abroad, at a lower price and without restrictions, then it is in its interests to acquire all the necessary goods abroad. And will it itself produce something for sale on the world market? Nothing guarantees this. But then, at the expense of what income will the country pay for its purchases? The theory of absolute advantage leads to a dead end.

D. Ricardo in his "Principles of Political Economy and Taxation" (1817) brings the classical theory out of a logical impasse. It shows why nations trade, to what extent exchange between two countries is most beneficial, highlighting the criteria for international specialization. It is in the interests of each country, D. Ricardo believes, to specialize in production in which it has the greatest advantage or the least weakness, and for which the relative benefit is the greatest. His reasoning found expression in the so-called principle or theory of comparative advantage.

D. Ricardo proved that international exchange is possible and desirable in the interests of all countries. He determined the price zone within which the exchange is beneficial for everyone.

John Stuart Mill, in his "Principles of Political Economy" (1848), showed the price at which commodity exchange takes place. According to Mill: the price of exchange is set by the law of supply and demand at such a level that the aggregate of each country's exports pays for the aggregate of its imports. This law of international value, or "theory of international value," is an important merit of Mill. The theory of international value shows that there is a price that optimizes the exchange of goods between countries. This market price depends on supply and demand.

A new word in the development of the theory of the classics of bourgeois political economy was said by Gottfried Haberler, who concretized it from the point of view of all factors of production, and not just labor.

The foundations of modern ideas about what causes determine the direction and structure of international trade flows, possible advantages in international exchange were laid by Swedish scientists - economists Eli Heckscher and Bertil Ohlin. Their explanation of the comparative advantage that a country has in relation to certain products is at the level of endowment with factors of production. Heckscher and Ohlin put forward the "equalization of factor prices" theorem. Its essence is that national production differences are determined by different endowment with factors of production - labor, land, capital, as well as different internal needs for certain goods, their prices.

In 1948, American economists Paul Samuelson and W. Stolper improved the proof of the Heckscher-Ohlin theorem by presenting their theorem: 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. In the concepts of trade based on the Ricardian model with additions by Heckscher, Ohlin and Samuelson, trade is seen not just as a mutually beneficial exchange, but also as a means by which the development gap between countries can be reduced.

The theory of foreign trade was further developed in the work of the American economist W. Leontiev under the title "Leontiev's paradox". The paradox is that, using the Heckscher-Ohlin theorem, Leontief showed that the American economy in the postwar period specialized in those types of production that required relatively more labor than capital. In other words, US exports are more labor-intensive and less capital-intensive than imports. This conclusion contradicted all pre-existing ideas about the US economy. By all accounts, it has always been characterized by an excess of capital, and in accordance with the Heckscher-Ohlin theorem, it could be argued that the United States exports rather than imports highly capital-intensive goods. In subsequent years, the discovery of V. Leontiev received a wide response. Many economists from different countries discussed this topic, explaining the "Leontief paradox". As a result, the theory of comparative advantage has been further developed.

A prominent place in foreign concepts of international trade is occupied by the theory of the foreign trade multiplier. In accordance with this theory: the effect exerted by foreign trade (in particular, exports) on the dynamics of growth of national income, on the size of employment, consumption and investment activity, is characterized for each country by quite definite quantitative dependencies and can be calculated and expressed as a certain coefficient - multiplier (multiplier). Initially, export orders will directly increase output, and hence wages, in the industries that fulfill this order. And then secondary consumer spending will kick in.

Significant changes taking place in the system of the world economy and international relations in the postwar period led to the emergence of a number of factors that, at first glance, did not fit into the classical theory of comparative advantage. However, in reality, these new factors did not contradict or refute it, but only adequately reflected the new realities of international economic relations associated with the development of scientific and technological progress. Factors of comparative advantage began to include new components, such as: the level of competence, emphasizing the role of skilled labor; the difference between countries in wages, the impact of economies of scale in the parallel complication of its process, etc.

A special role of competition in explaining the reasons for the development of foreign trade, the entry of firms into the foreign market was shown in his studies by the authoritative American economist Michael Porter. The competitiveness of a country, in accordance with his evidence, is determined primarily by a complex competitive advantage its leading firms.

To substantiate the causes and features of the development of international trade, especially with developing countries, the theory of "product life cycle" was used. The essence of this theory is that at first the production of new goods is based in one country, then these goods are exported to other countries that master their production. And already the countries that have established the production of these goods for the first time begin to import them from there, as a result life cycle goods lengthens and this affects the position of countries in international trade.

In addition to the theories that aim to explain and substantiate the processes of international trade from the standpoint of the theory of comparative advantages, a direction is being developed in Western economic thought that analyzes foreign trade from the standpoint of the behavior of individual international companies, especially transnational companies (TNCs). The objective basis of this approach is the fact that 1/3 of world trade is carried out through transfer prices, i.e. prices at which a product is transferred within an intercountry branch network large companies. According to V. B. Buglay and N. N. Liventsev, intracompany communications account for about 70% of all world trade, 80-90% of licenses and patents sold, and 40% of capital exports. The ever-increasing role of TNCs in the world economy significantly affects the qualitative characteristics of trade exchange. The actions of an international monopoly in the process of direct investment or procurement and supply of raw materials and components often contradict the theory of comparative advantage. Multinational companies break the monopoly of individual countries on the possession of comparative advantages. They organize production where the cost of production is the lowest, and use these advantages to their advantage.

4. Features of the dynamics and changes in the territorial and commodity structure of international trade

Since the second half of the 20th century, when international exchange, according to M. Pebro's definition, acquires an "explosive character", world trade has been developing at a high pace. In the period 1950-1998. world exports grew 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. It was during this period that an annual 7% growth in world exports was achieved. However, already in the 70s it dropped to 5%, decreasing even more in the 80s. In the late 1980s, world exports showed a noticeable recovery (up to 8.5% in 1988). After a clear decline in the early 1990s, in the mid-1990s it again demonstrates high and stable rates - an average of 6% per year.

The stable, sustainable growth of international trade was influenced by a number of factors:

Development of the international division of labor and the internationalization of production and capital;

Scientific and technological revolution, contributing to the renewal of fixed capital, the creation of new sectors of the economy, accelerating the reconstruction of old ones; regulation (liberalization) of international trade through GATT-WTO measures;

Liberalization of international trade, the transition of many countries to a regime that includes the abolition of quantitative restrictions on imports and a significant reduction in customs duties - the formation of "free economic zones";

Active activity of transnational corporations in the world market;

Development of trade and economic integration processes: elimination of regional barriers, formation common markets, free trade zones;

Obtaining political independence of the former colonial countries. Separation from among them "new industrial countries" with an economy model oriented to the external market.

Since the second half of the 20th century, the uneven dynamics of foreign trade has become noticeable. This affected the balance of power between countries in the world market. The dominance of the United States was shaken. The export of Germany and other Western European countries grew at a noticeable pace. In the 1990s, Western Europe - main center international trade. Its exports are almost 4 times higher than those of the United States. In the 1980s, Japan made a significant breakthrough in international trade.

By the mid-1990s, the United States was once again taking a leading position in the world in terms of competitiveness.

According to experts' forecasts, in the first years of the 21st century, the United States and Asian states will be the most competitive. In 2030, three states are expected to be among the most competitive states - the USA, Japan and China. Next in this long-term forecast are Germany, Singapore, South Korea, India, Taiwan, Malaysia and Switzerland, as well as countries grouped under the heading "big new markets". These are Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, the countries of South Africa, Turkey, Poland, and also Russia.

5. Sectoral structure of world trade

The most dynamic and intensively developing sector of world trade is trade in manufacturing products, especially high-tech goods. Thus, the export of science-intensive products is more than 500 billion dollars a year, and the share of high-tech products is approaching 40% in the export of industrialized countries.

Significantly increased the role of trade in machinery and equipment. The fastest growing exports of electrical and electronic equipment, which account for more than 25% of all exports of machinery products

In connection with the increase in world exports of machinery and equipment (the leaders here are industrialized countries), the exchange of relevant services has also grown sharply: scientific, technical, industrial, commercial, financial and credit. Active trade in machinery and equipment has given rise to a number of new services, such as: engineering, leasing, consulting, information and computing services.

In general, world exports of services in the 1980s show a noticeable growth, which slowed down somewhat in the mid-1990s. The development of the world economy is largely determined by the growth of trade in services - transport, financial, tourism.

Characterizing the sectoral structure of world trade in the first half of the 20th century (before the Second World War) and in subsequent decades, we see significant changes. If in the first half of the century 2/3 of the world trade was accounted for by food, raw materials and fuel, then by the end of the century they accounted for only 1/4. The share of trade in manufacturing products increased from 1/3 to 3/4. And, finally, more than 1/3 of all world trade by the end of the 90s is the trade in machinery and equipment.

Conclusion

Thus, in this essay, the main issues related to international trade, its dynamics and structure were considered.

The very term of international trade was defined, its main characteristics were given, and its main forms and concepts were determined. The issue of the dynamics of international trade and the process of changing its territorial-commodity and sectoral structure were highlighted.

Bibliography

Avdokushin E.F. "International Economic Relations"

Sergeev P.V. "World economy"

Fomichev V.I. "International trade"

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international trade market

International (world) trade is the process of buying and selling goods and services between buyers, sellers and intermediaries in different countries. Quite often, international trade refers only to trade in goods.

International trade is one of the most developed and traditional forms of international economic relations. In the field of international trade, there is intense competition, since the economic interests of almost all the main subjects of the world economy collide here. International trade consists of two opposite flows - exports and imports. The nominal volume of international trade as a whole has a general upward trend. Since prices in international trade are rising, the value of trade is growing faster than its physical volume.

Simultaneously with the growth of the scale of international trade, its structure is also changing - geographical shifts (changes in the ratios between countries and groups of countries) and shifts in the commodity structure.

In modern conditions successful development national economy is impossible without its participation in international exchange, even the most developed country is not able to efficiently produce and fully meet its needs only with domestic products. World trade is the main form foreign economic relations for most countries, in terms of dynamics, it is ahead of the growth of world production, which indicates the strengthening of the internationalization of the world economy. During the period from 1950 to 2000, the volume of world GDP increased by 6.2 times, and world merchandise exports by 11.7 times. In 2002, the volume of world trade amounted to 11.8 trillion. dollars, including exports - 5.8, imports -6.0 trillion. dollars. It should be noted that in value terms, the volume of world trade is three times less than world GDP.

World trade is characterized by uneven dynamics, periods of growth are replaced by years of stagnation and then decline. In the early 90s. after moderate growth and stagnation, the volume of world trade since 1994 began to grow at a fairly high rate. As a result of the Asian financial crisis, it fell by 3% in 1998 and then rose by 7% in 1999. In 2000, the growth of world trade amounted to 12.5% ​​in value terms - this is the highest figure since the early 70s.

Consider the commodity and geographic structure of world trade.

Significant shifts have taken place in the structure of world trade: the share of finished goods has increased and the share of food and raw materials, except for fuel, has decreased. If in the 1950s the share of raw materials and fuels was approximately equal to the share of finished goods, by the beginning of the new century the share of raw materials, food and fuel had fallen to 30%, of which? 25% is for fuel and 5% for raw materials. At the same time, the share of finished products increased from 50% to 70%.

Quantitative characteristics of the structure of world trade are presented in Table 1.

Table 1. Structure of world trade in goods

Products	Total volume, billion dollars
Food Extractive industry: Minerals Non-ferrous metals Industrial: iron and steel Products of the chemical industry Other types of lower processing products Mechanical engineering and transport equipment: Automotive products Office and telecommunications Other types of transport equipment Textile industry products Other types of consumer goods

The decrease in the share of raw materials in international trade is due to three main reasons: the expansion of the production of synthetic materials based on the development of the chemical industry, the greater use of domestic raw materials and the transition to resource-saving technologies. At the same time, trade in mineral fuels - oil, natural gas - has sharply increased as a result of the development of the chemical industry and changes in the structure of the fuel and energy balance.

If earlier in the international exchange of goods raw materials and final products prevailed, then in modern conditions the exchange of semi-finished products, intermediate forms of products, and individual parts of the final product acquires importance. The emergence of a powerful production apparatus of TNCs abroad, the establishment of stable cooperative ties between individual international links in technological chains have led to the fact that already about 1/3 of all imports and up to 3/5 of trade in machinery and equipment fall on intermediate products.

The reason for this phenomenon can be called the growth of specialization in the conditions of the scientific and technological revolution. The monopolies seek to reduce the unit costs of production by increasing the minimum and optimal sizes of enterprises, achieving savings on large-scale serial production with extensive use of exports, since the volume of the domestic market does not allow a significant increase in production. According to studies, with a doubling of mass production, unit costs are reduced by 8-10%.

In the structure of world exports, machinery and equipment account for more than 30%. Imports are constantly increasing industrial equipment, including complete for the construction of turnkey enterprises, electrical and electronic equipment, cars, household appliances. A fast-growing sector is trade in science-intensive goods: computers, communications equipment, complex electronic devices, etc. At the beginning of the 21st century. office and telecommunications equipment accounted for 15% of world trade.

The exchange of chemical products today accounts for more than 10% of world exports. A specific feature of this market is that the main exporting countries: the USA, Germany, France are at the same time the largest importers. This indicates a deep division of labor between the leading countries in the chemical industry. The main products in this market are: petrochemical products, artificial materials, pharmaceutical products, mineral fertilizers, varnishes, paints, etc.

Significant adjustments to the commodity and geographical structure of world trade are made by the activities of TNCs. The location of subsidiaries and branches in different countries, taking into account their competitive advantages (cheap raw materials, inexpensive labor, favorable geographical position), allows them to conduct international exchange not only of final products, but also of individual components, parts and semi-finished products. According to various estimates, their intra-company trade accounts for 40 to 60% of world exports.

The activities of TNCs had a significant impact on the change in the structure of commodity exports of developing countries. The creation of subsidiaries of corporations contributed to the development of national industry and an increase in the export of industrial products. Commodity flows from the newly industrialized countries (NIEs) grew rapidly. In 2000, Hong Kong (part of the PRC), Taiwan, the Republic of Korea, Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia together accounted for more than 10% of world exports. The share of machinery and equipment in Taiwan's exports was 93%, the Republic of Korea and Hong Kong - 92%.

A special position in the group of developing countries is occupied by countries - members of OPEC. In the mid-1970s, due to rising oil prices, they accounted for more than half of all developing countries' exports. Today, their share in world trade has decreased, but they provide 65% of the world's oil exports. With the exception of NIS and oil exporters, the export structure of developing countries is dominated by components for industry, industrial raw materials, products light industry, certain types of food

In the export of industrialized countries, the share of high-tech products is growing, which in the USA, Switzerland and Japan is over 20%, Germany and France - about 15%. The trade in microelectronic products is growing especially fast. In this position, China has recently begun to lead, where the annual increase in exports of such products in 2005 amounted to 29.7%. An important role in trade is acquired by the export and import of services, the so-called. "invisible exports". If in 1970 the volume of world exports of services was 80 billion dollars, then in 2004-2005. - about 1.5 trillion. dollars, i.e. more than 20% of the cost of goods sold. Services account for over 40% of US exports and 46% of UK exports

With a decrease in the export of some traditional services (for example, transport), the export of services related to the application of scientific and technological achievements, with the introduction of computer technology, consulting, trade, intermediary and technical services, know-how, communication services, banking services is rapidly developing. , insurance agencies, etc. .

An analysis of trade directions reveals that mutual trade between industrialized countries, which account for almost 60% of world exports, is growing at a faster pace. In turn, developing countries export about 70% of their export goods to industrial countries (of which China - 34%). As for the participants in trade, the trend of ousting medium and small exporters and importers from the world market is increasing. Foreign trade relations are concentrated within the framework of monopoly associations. Already in the 1980s, American exports related to the activities of TNCs accounted for 84% of all US exports and 60% of imports. A similar pattern is observed in other countries.

A characteristic feature of recent years is the barterization of foreign economic transactions - the growth of counter trade. Such "counter" transactions account for 20% to 30% of all world trade.

The geographical distribution of world trade in recent decades is characterized by the predominance of leading countries with a gradual decrease in their share. In 2000, the USA accounted for 11.9% of world exports, Germany - 7.8%, Japan - 6.1%, France - 4.6%, Great Britain - 4.4%. At the same time, they are the main world importers. The main commodity flows flow within the framework of the "big triad": USA - Western Europe - Japan

Along with legitimate trade practices, criminal forms of trade, smuggling, trade in goods with falsified trademarks (clothes, shoes, household electrical appliances) are gaining momentum, especially in a number of countries in Southeast Asia. The volume of such trade reaches 60 billion dollars a year.

In general, it can be noted that the very nature of the world market has changed. It no longer receives surpluses of domestic production, but pre-agreed deliveries to a specific buyer.