International Trade Notes (Final Revision) - 3
International Trade Notes (Final Revision) - 3
International Trade Notes (Final Revision) - 3
INTERNATIONAL TRADE
Trade between countries take place because countries are unable to produce all of the goods
and services that they want or need and allow countries to sell off any excess goods they may
have.
International trade also provides the country with additional income in the form of revenue
from exports which are sold to other countries and also allows the establishing of “Allies” or
friendship between countries.
International Trade is also known as foreign trade and acts to improve the standard and quality
of life of the people.
Imports – goods and services purchased from another country. As a result of this exchange
money must leave your country to pay for such purchases. (-)
Exports – goods and services produced locally and sold to other countries. This results in an
inflow of currency into the country. (+)
Visible Trade – this refers to the imports/export of physical goods e.g. crawfish, pineapples,
salt, plastic goods.
Countries have to earn money to spend on things they need. Money is earned by the sale of
goods and services overseas (exports) which in turn will bring money into the country that can
now be used to make purchases from other countries, (imports).
If a country earns more than they spend, they build up a surplus, become wealthy and generally
have a higher standard of living. The opposite is also true.
1
1. Balance of Trade
The difference in the amount of goods (tangible), leaving the country(export which brings in
money)and goods coming into the country (imports which takes money out of the country), is
the country’s Balance of Trade.
Exports ˃ Imports = Balance of Trade is Favorable/Surplus (Inflow of capital – Country earned
more than it spent)
2. Invisible Balance
Invisible trade includes services such as Banking, Insurance, Transportation (Shipping),
Interest/Dividends, Travel & Tourist, Education, Health, (intangible).
2
3. Balance of Payments (Current Account)
The Balance of Payment /Current account consists of Balance of Trade (Visible goods), and
Invisible Balance (Services).
4. Balancing Item
Also included are Transfer Payments which are not payment for goods & services but are gifts
or grants in the form of money, e.g. i) gifts of money sent to/from families abroad, ii) grants
made to aid other countries, iii) grants to develop countries and international organizations.
3
Transaction in external assets/liabilities
Capital Account +$6,500
Investment -$1,200
d) Net assets/liabilities ___________
e) Balancing Item __________
Classwork
Using the information below complete the Balance of Trade, Invisible Balance,
Balance of Payment and Balancing Item.
Invisible Import
Invisible Export
2) Invisible Balance _________
3) Balance of Payment _________
4
Invisible Trade
Transportation Transportation
Education Education
Insurance Insurance
Banking Banking
There are temporary measures that a country can take to correct an adverse Balance of
Payment problem as they are not satisfactory in the long run. These temporary measures may
include:
5
- Borrow from International Monetary Fund (IMF)
- Obtain Loans from abroad
- Take money from their official gold and foreign currency reserves.
- Selling off foreign assets
The best solution for this problem in the long run is to increase exports. Governments can help
to achieve this by offering incentives to firms involved in exporting goods. (Tax Relief, Special
Credit Facilities, Subsidies)
i) Exchange control – Central Bank can place a limit on the outflow of foreign
currency that can be purchased, meaning a decrease in imports.
ii) Import control - Tariffs and Quotas are 2 main methods used to
restrict imports.
We know that a country can borrow money from overseas, but there are limits on how much
they can borrow from abroad or from their foreign currency reserve.
Question: We know that VAT was implemented to assist with paying our
National Debt. The present Government is set to implement the following
policies:
6
i) Decrease VAT to 10% on all goods and services
ii) Add VAT to previous bread basket items that had no VAT
charges.
What would be the impact of such a decision on our economy? (8)
Absolute Advantage
States that when a country is able to produce a variety of products cheaper than other
countries, they will concentrate on those products with the lowest production cost.
Example: Assume that 2 countries (Country A and Country B) trade only 2 products: Computer
and Sugar, and they both have the same amount of resources. The cost of each item given the
set resources is shown below.
7
Country B $500 $100
When we compare the cost of producing computers, Country B can produce it cheaper (more
efficiently) than country A, ($500 vs. $600), so Country B has an ABSOLUTE ADVANTAGE in the
production of computers and Country A an ABSOLUTE ADVANTAGE in producing sugar.
The country with the Absolute Advantage can produce and sell their product much cheaper on
the International market, so country A would specialize in the production and export of sugar
and country B in computers.
Which country will have the Absolute Advantage for the 2 products below?
Comparative Advantage
A comparative advantage occurs when a country do not have an Absolute Advantage in the
production of goods and services, so they will produce the good with the lowest opportunity
cost when compared to other countries with the same resources.
Assume:
Cost per unit
Rice Cloth
Country X $100 $50
Country Y $5 $20
Country Y have the absolute advantage in the production of rice and cloth.
Country X must now produce the product with the lowest opportunity cost, because they have
no Absolute Advantage. This will give them a Comparative Advantage in the production of that
product.
8
$100 $50
Rice Cloth
Country X $50/$100. Country X $100/$50. Country X
has to give up 0.5 cloth has to give up 2 rice
to obtain 1 Rice for 1 cloth
Country Y $20/$5. Country Y has $5/$20. Country Y
to give up 4 cloth to has to give up 0.25
obtain 1 Rice rice to obtain 1 cloth
$5 $20
Country X has a lower opportunity cost in the production of rice, (only giving up 0.5 as opposed
to 4 cloth). Country X have a comparative advantage in the production of rice.
Country Y has a lower opportunity cost in the production of cloth, (only giving up 0.25 rice as
opposed to 2). Country Y have a comparative advantage in the production of Cloth.
Assignment:
Using the information below, calculate the comparative cost and indicate which country should
produce which product.
Assume:
Cost per unit
Computer Sugar
Country A $600 $200
Country B $500 $100
Computer Sugar
Country A
200/600=.33 600/200=3
9
Country B
100/500=.20 500/100=5
a) Which country is has an Absolute Advantage in i) Pants ii) pocket calculators. (2)
b) How many pocket calculators have to be given up to produce one pair of pants in i)
Guyana, ii) Belize. (2)
c) Which country has the lowest opportunity cost in the production of pocket
calculators? (2)
d) If these 2 countries decide to specialize and trade with one another, in which good
should i) Guyana specialize ii) Belize specialize. (2)
10
2. Product Acceptability – Products must meet the standards of the market the
exporter wishes to sell them to (quality, culture, health, religious).
3. Import regulations – Import regulations for each country varies. The exporter must
be familiar with these regulations in order to be successful.
4. Transit Risk – Goods travelling to various destinations face the risk of damage or
theft. Most of these risks can be covered by insurance.
5. Arranging Transportation – The exporter must find adequate transportation for his
product. In most countries there is a department set up for
international shipping.
6. Foreign Currency – Currency exchange between countries are constantly changing,
so the value of the currency when the trade took place may not be the
same as when the funds are collected 30 days later.
The following are methods used to control the amount of goods coming into and going out of a
country.
11
1) Embargo – This is a government ban on trade between countries.
2) Tariffs – This is a tax placed on imported goods, so goods coming into the
country will be more expensive. This is usually implemented when the
government wants to encourage the purchase of local products.
3) Quotas – Government places a restriction on the quantity of a particular good
that is allowed to enter the country at any given period of time. This too was
implemented to discourage imports and encourage local trade. e.g. when local
crops are in season, there be a limit placed on the import of that products (sweet
pepper)
4) Exchange Control – Imports can only be purchased with foreign currency. The
government can limit imports by restricting the amount of foreign currency made
available to companies.
12
4. Define Balance of trade and Balance of Payments. (4)
5. Give 3 examples of visible and 3 examples of invisible goods and services.
(6)
6. What would cause a surplus and what will result in a deficit balance of
payments? (4)
7. Give 4 examples of options that a country has when there is a deficit. (4)
8. What can be done with the surplus received from trading? (Name 3) (3)
9. Briefly describe how an exporter can sell their goods abroad without
actually going overseas? (2)
10.What are three problems that can be experienced with fluctuating
exchange rates? (6)
11.What are; Tariffs, Quotas and Embargo? (6)
12.In what way would a subsidy offered to local businesses assist in
international trade? (3)
13.Identify 4 main reasons why countries would restrict trade. (4)
13