International Trade Flashcards
comparative advantage
exists when a country has a margin of superiority in the production of a good or service
Protectionism
represents any attempt to impose restrictions on trade in goods and services
Tariffs
a tax that raises the price of imported products and causes a contraction in demand and an expansion in supply
Quotas
quantitative limits on the level of imports allowed or a limit to the value of imports permitted into a in a given time period
Voluntary export restraint arrangements
where two countries make an agreement to limit the volume of their exports to one another over an agreed period of time.
Intellectual property laws
(patents and copyrights)
Technical barriers to trade
including product labeling rules and stringent sanitary rules, food safety and environmental standards. These increase product compliance costs and impose monitoring costs on export agencies in many countries. Huge scale vertically integrated transnational businesses can cope with these non-tariff barriers but many of the least developed countries do not have the some technical sophistication to overcome these barriers.
Preferential state procurement policies
where a government favour local/domestic producers when finalizing contracts for state spending e.g. infrastructure projects
Export subsidies
a payment to encourage domestic production by lowering their costs. Soft loans can be used to fund the ‘dumping’ of products in overseas markets. Well known subsidies include Common Agricultural Policy in the EU, or cotton subsidies for US farmers and farm subsidies introduced by countries such as Russia. In 2012, the USA government imposed tariffs of up to 4.7 per cent on Chinese manufacturers of solar panel cells, judging that they benefited from unfair export subsidies after a review that split the US solar industry.
Domestic subsidies
government financial help (state aid) for domestic businesses facing financial problems e.g. subsidies for car manufacturers or loss-making airlines.
Import licensing
governments grants importers the license to import goods.
Exchange controls
limiting the foreign exchange that can move between countries.
Financial protectionism
for example when a national government instructs its banks to give priority when making loans to domestic businesses.
Murky or hidden protectionism
state measures that indirectly discriminate against foreign workers, investors and traders. A government subsidy that is paid only when consumers buy locally produced goods and services would count as an example. Deliberate intervention in currency markets might also come under this category.
