List of international trade topics

Balance of trade figures, also called net exports (NX), are the sum of the money gained by a given economy by selling exports, minus the cost of buying imports. They form part of the balance of payments, which also includes other transactions such as the international investment position. The figures are usually split into visible and invisible balance figures. The visible balance represents the physical goods, and invisible rep ...

Including:

• Balance of trade - Economic Impact of Balance of Trade
• Balance of trade - Popular myths about trade deficits
• Balance of trade - Debate about the American trade deficit
• Balance of trade - Physical trade balance

Read more here: » Balance of trade: Encyclopedia - Balance of trade

The WTO Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPs) is an international treaty which sets down minimum standards for most forms of intellectual property regulation within all member countries of the WTO. Specifically, TRIPs deals with copyright and related rights (ie. rights of performers, producers of sound recordings and broadcasting organisations); geographical indications (including appellations of origin); industrial designs; integrated circuit layout-designs; patents (including the pr ...

Including:

• Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights - Background and history
• Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights - The requirements of TRIPs
• Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights - Controversy
• Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights - Access to essential medicines
• Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights - Software and business method patents
• Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights - Use for enforcement of industrial espionage cases
• Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights - Post-TRIPs expansionism
• Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights - Panel reports

Read more here: » Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights: Encyclopedia - Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights

Business refers to at least three closely related commercial topics. The first is a commercial, professional or industrial organization or enterprise, generally referred to as "a business." The second is commercial, professional, and industrial activity generally, as in "business continues to evolve as markets change." Finally, business can be used to refer to a particular area of economic activity, such as the "record business" or the "computer business" (see Industry). This article is concerned primarily with the first definition of individual businesses, but also contains links to general business and management ...

Including:

• Business - Types of Businesses
• Business - Business departments
• Business - Business and Government
• Business - Business and Management

Read more here: » Business: Encyclopedia - Business

Barter is a type of trade where goods or services are exchanged for a certain amount of other goods or services, i.e. there is no money involved in the transaction. It can be bilateral or multilateral as trade. Barter trade was common in societies where no monetary system existed or in economies suffering from a very unstable currency (as when hyperinflation hits) or a lack of currency. The disadvantage of using bilateral barter in the past was that it depended on the mutual coincidence of wants. Before any transaction c ...

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Trade is the voluntary exchange of goods, services, or both. Trade is also called commerce. A mechanism that allows trade is called a market. The original form of trade was barter, the direct exchange of goods and services. Modern traders instead generally negotiate through a medium of exchange, such as money. As a result, buying can be separated from selling, or earning. The invention of money (and later credit, paper money and non-physical money) greatly simplified and promoted trade. Trade between two traders is called bilateral trade, while trade between more th ...

Including:

• Trade - History of trade
• Trade - Development of money
• Trade - Current trends
• Trade - International trade
• Trade - Organisation of trade
• Trade - International organizations
• Trade - Types of trade
• Trade - Support for trade
• Trade - Notes
• Trade - External link

Read more here: » Trade: Encyclopedia - Trade

In economics, the theory of comparative advantage explains why it can be beneficial for two countries to trade, even though one of them may be able to produce every kind of item more cheaply than the other. What matters is not the absolute cost of production, but rather the ratio between how easily the two countries can produce different kinds of things. It was first described by Robert Torrens in 1815 in an essay on the corn trade. He concluded that it was to England's advantage to trade various goods with Poland in return for ...

Including:

• Comparative advantage - Example 1
• Comparative advantage - Example 2
• Comparative advantage - Example 3
• Comparative advantage - Assumptions in Example 3

Read more here: » Comparative advantage: Encyclopedia - Comparative advantage

North American Free Trade Agreement - Controversy. NAFTA has been controversial since it was first proposed. Transnational corporations have tended to support NAFTA in the belief that lower tariffs would increase their profits. Labor unions in Canada and the United States have opposed NAFTA for fear that jobs would move out of the country due to lower labor costs in Mexico. Some politicians, economists, and policy experts have opposed free trade for fear that it will turn countries, such as Canada, into permanent ...

See also:

North American Free Trade Agreement, North American Free Trade Agreement - Effects, North American Free Trade Agreement - Controversy, North American Free Trade Agreement - Chapter 11, North American Free Trade Agreement - Canada, North American Free Trade Agreement - Language, North American Free Trade Agreement - Comparision with other Regional blocs

Read more here: » North American Free Trade Agreement: Encyclopedia II - North American Free Trade Agreement - Effects

In 1973, the ISO Technical Committee 68 decided to develop codes for the representation of currencies and funds for use in any application of trade, commerce or banking. At the 17th session (February 1978) of the related UN/ECE Group of Experts agreed that the three letter alphabetic codes for International Standard ISO 4217, "Codes for the representation of currencies and funds", would be suitable for use in international trade. Over time, new currencies are created and old currencies are discontinued. Frequently, these changes are d ...

See also:

ISO 4217, ISO 4217 - History, ISO 4217 - Active codes sorted by code, ISO 4217 - Currency Numeric Codes, ISO 4217 - Without currency code, ISO 4217 - Obsolete currency codes, ISO 4217 - Replaced by Euro, ISO 4217 - Replaced for other reasons

Read more here: » ISO 4217: Encyclopedia II - ISO 4217 - History

Broadly speaking, economics is a social science, and its area of study is human activity involved in meeting needs and wants. However, beyond this there are a range of definitions, past and present which have been applied, first to the term political economy and then to the modern term economics. John Maynard Keynes once remarked that "Economics is the science of thinking." Broadly the history of the study moved from the study of "wealth" to "welfare" to the idea studying trade-offs. < ...

See also:

Economics, Economics - Definitions of economics, Economics - Wealth definition, Economics - Welfare definition, Economics - Scarcity definition, Economics - Areas of study in economics, Economics - Economic assumptions, Economics - Supply and demand, Economics - Price, Economics - Scarcity, Economics - Marginalism, Economics - Value, Economics - Economic language and reasoning, Economics - Development of economic thought, Economics - Schools of economic thought, Economics - Modern 'mainstream' economics, Economics - Neoclassical economics, Economics - Post-Keynesian economics, Economics - New-Keynesian economics, Economics - Other alternatives, Economics - Economics and other disciplines

Read more here: » Economics: Encyclopedia II - Economics - Definitions of economics

Traditionally trade was regulated through bilateral treaties between two nations. For centuries under the belief in Mercantilism most nations had high tariffs and many restrictions on international trade. In the 19th century, especially in Britain, a belief in free trade became paramount and this view has dominated thinking among western nations for most of the time since then. In the years since the Second World War multilateral treaties like the GATT and World Trade Or ...

See also:

International trade, International trade - International trade theory, International trade - Regulation of international trade, International trade - Risks in international trade

Read more here: » International trade: Encyclopedia II - International trade - Regulation of international trade

Trade originated with the start of communication in prehistoric times. Trading was the main facility of prehistoric people, who bartered goods and services from each other. Peter Watson dates the history of long-distance commerce from circa 150,000 years ago.[1] Trade is believed to have taken place throughout much of recorded human history. There is evidence of the exchange of obsidian and flint during the stone age. M ...

See also:

Trade, Trade - History of trade, Trade - Development of money, Trade - Current trends, Trade - International trade, Trade - Organisation of trade, Trade - International organizations, Trade - Types of trade, Trade - Support for trade, Trade - Notes, Trade - External link

Read more here: » Trade: Encyclopedia II - Trade - History of trade

A market based exchange rate will change whenever the values of either of the two component currencies change. A currency will tend to become more valuable whenever demand for it is greater than the available supply. It will become less valuable whenever demand is less than available supply (this does not mean people no longer want money, it just means they prefer holding their wealth in some other form, possibly another currency). Increased demand for a currency is due to either an increased transaction demand for money, or an increa ...

See also:

Exchange rate, Exchange rate - Free or pegged, Exchange rate - Nominal and real exchange rates, Exchange rate - Fluctuations in exchange rates, Exchange rate - Foreign exchange markets

Read more here: » Exchange rate: Encyclopedia II - Exchange rate - Fluctuations in exchange rates

In 1973, the ISO Technical Committee 68 decided to develop codes for the representation of currencies and funds for use in any application of trade, commerce or banking. At the 17th session (February 1978) of the related UN/ECE Group of Experts agreed that the three letter alphabetic codes for International Standard ISO 4217, "Codes for the representation of currencies and funds", would be suitable for use in international trade. Over time, new currencies are created and old currencies are discontinued. Frequently, these changes are d ...

See also:

ISO 4217, ISO 4217 - History, ISO 4217 - Active codes, ISO 4217 - Obsolete currency codes, ISO 4217 - Replaced by Euro, ISO 4217 - Replaced for other reasons

Read more here: » ISO 4217: Encyclopedia II - ISO 4217 - History

Traditionally trade was regulated through bilateral treaties between two nations. For centuries under the belief in Mercantilism most nations had high tariffs and many restrictions on international trade. In the 19th century, especially in Britain, a belief in free trade became paramount and this view has dominated thinking among western nations for most of the time since then. In the years since the Second World War multilateral treaties like the GATT and World Trade Or ...

See also:

International trade, International trade - International Trade Theory, International trade - Regulation of international trade, International trade - Risks in international trade

Read more here: » International trade: Encyclopedia II - International trade - Regulation of international trade

Europe: European Union (EU) Council of Europe European Free Trade Association European Space Agency European Patent Organisation Asia: Asian Cooperation Dialogue (ACD) Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) Gulf Cooperation Council Eurasia: Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Eurasian Econom ...

See also:

International organization, International organization - Examples of global organizations, International organization - Examples of regional organizations, International organization - Organizations formed on miscellaneous membership criteria, International organization - Financial international organizations

Read more here: » International organization: Encyclopedia II - International organization - Examples of regional organizations

Broadly speaking, economics is a social science, and its area of study is human activity involved in meeting needs and wants. However, beyond this there are a range of definitions, past and present which have been applied, first to the term political economy and then to the modern term economics. John Maynard Keynes once remarked that "Economics is the science of thinking." Broadly the history of the study moved from the study of "wealth" to "welfare" to the idea studying trade offs. < ...

See also:

Economics, Economics - Definitions of economics, Economics - Wealth definition, Economics - Welfare definition, Economics - Scarcity definition, Economics - Areas of study in economics, Economics - Economic assumptions, Economics - Supply and demand, Economics - Price, Economics - Scarcity, Economics - Marginalism, Economics - Value, Economics - Economic language and reasoning, Economics - Development of economic thought, Economics - Schools of economic thought, Economics - Modern 'mainstream' economics, Economics - Neoclassical economics, Economics - Post-Keynesian economists, Economics - Other alternatives, Economics - Economics and other disciplines

Read more here: » Economics: Encyclopedia II - Economics - Definitions of economics

Trade originated with the start of communication in prehistoric time. Trading was the main facility of prehistoric people, who bartered goods and services from each other. Peter Watson dates the history of long-distance commerce from circa 150,000 years ago.[1] Trade is believed to have taken place throughout much of recorded human history. There is evidence of the exchange of obsidian and flint during the stone age. Ma ...

See also:

Trade, Trade - History of trade, Trade - Development of money, Trade - Current trends, Trade - International trade, Trade - Organisation of trade, Trade - International organizations, Trade - Types of trade, Trade - Support for trade, Trade - Notes, Trade - External link

Read more here: » Trade: Encyclopedia II - Trade - History of trade

Since TRIPs came into force it has received a growing level of criticism from developing countries, academics, and NGOs, on the basis that the WTO system in general and the TRIPs system in particular encapsulates all that is socially, politically and economically unjust about globalisation (see also anti-globalisation). However, due to the rule-based system of the WTO, and the technical complexities of applicable laws, many commentators consider that only extensive and intense social and political opposition is likely to ov ...

See also:

Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights, Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights - Background and history, Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights - The requirements of TRIPs, Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights - Controversy, Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights - Access to essential medicines, Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights - Software and business method patents, Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights - Use for enforcement of industrial espionage cases, Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights - Post-TRIPs expansionism, Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights - Panel reports

Read more here: » Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights: Encyclopedia II - Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights - Controversy

Microeconomists do not believe that trade deficits are inherently good or bad. They do believe that trade deficits are generally harmful when countries engage in currency controls such as fixed or pegged exchange rates. They argue that fixed exchange rates do not allow the market to naturally correct any current account “problems”. Milton Friedman believes that much of the fears of trade deficits are unfair criticisms in an attempt to push macroeconomic policies favorable to export industries. He states that these deficits are not ...

See also:

Balance of trade, Balance of trade - Economic impact of balance of trade, Balance of trade - Popular myths about trade deficits, Balance of trade - Debate about the United States trade deficit, Balance of trade - Physical trade balance

Read more here: » Balance of trade: Encyclopedia II - Balance of trade - Popular myths about trade deficits

If the balance of trade is positive, then an economy exported more than it had imported. This may appear to be a good thing but may not always be so. An example of an economy in which a positive balance of payments is generally regarded as a bad thing is Japan in the 1990s. Because Japan had a consistently positive balance of payments, it had more currency than it could effectively invest, and it was reluctant to also offer full access to its own markets. This led to huge Japanese overseas purchases of items such as real estate, which were o ...

See also:

Balance of trade, Balance of trade - Economic Impact of Balance of Trade, Balance of trade - Popular myths about trade deficits, Balance of trade - Debate about the American trade deficit, Balance of trade - Physical trade balance

Read more here: » Balance of trade: Encyclopedia II - Balance of trade - Economic Impact of Balance of Trade