Source: WTO and World Bank. Current USD. Global trade has grown in absolute and relative terms, especially after 1990, when global exports surged in the wake of rapid industrialization in developing economies and the massive offshoring of manufacturing, particularly in China. The value of global exports first exceeded $US 1
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Changes in the Global Trade Environment
Significant changes in international trade took place in recent decades as economic activities became increasingly globalized. Although it is difficult to separate the specific phases of globalization clearly, three can be suggested: Immobile factors of production. For reasons mainly linked with regulations (customs restrictions, restrictions on foreign investment and ownership)
Favorable and Contentious Factors in International Trade
There are four main themes that are subject to contention in international trade: Factor substitution. Trade theory underlines that specialization is the outcome of substituting the factors of production brought by comparative advantages. This specialization promotes national productivity in selected economic sectors. However, when an economic system is relatively simple,
The Flows of Globalization
Globalization can be considered as a system of flows: Freight (trade). Mainly asymmetrical flows taking place to satisfy material demands ranging from raw materials to finished goods and all the intermediate goods in between. The asymmetry is reflective of trade imbalances as well as the general linear organization of supply
Economic Integration and Interdependencies
International trade promotes interdependencies since nations acquire what they lack and export what they have in surplus. Conventionally, nations were mostly limited to their national market, while external markets were protected by high tariffs and transportation costs. Low trade levels involved low levels of interdependency and economic efficiency. A decline
Standard International Trade Classification (SITC)
Source: United Nations Statistics Division. SITC is a classification of the commodities being subject to international trade. It was designed to help provide a categorization needed for economic analysis, facilitate the international comparison of trade data and offer clear categories to impose tariffs and duties. A single numeral represents a
Major Global Trade Routes, 1400-1800
From the 15th to the 19th century, a pattern of global trade flows emerged, mainly based on mercantilism. For centuries, China, India, and Southeast Asia have been the origin of trade flows dominated by luxury goods (spices, silk, tea, porcelain, etc.). This involved a positive capital flow as their trading
Absolute and Comparative Advantages
To understand the principles and differences between absolute and comparative advantages the above conceptual demonstration considers two countries having the same size, the same amount of resources and both having to use without trade half of their resources in two economic sectors (textiles and steel). The only difference is their
Economic Rationale of Trade
The difficulties in producing a vast array of goods are linked with differences in levels of development. The potential economic benefits of international or inter-regional trade are numerous and well known since the seminal work of Adam Smith (1776) and David Ricardo (1817). Without trade, each country must produce a
The Effect of a Border on Freight Distribution
Economic integration processes such as trade agreements and customs unions have greatly contributed to the growing fluidity of freight flows across borders, notably in Europe and North America. Still, border effects have not disappeared, and they continue to influence the structure of hinterlands and freight distribution. The three most common