Introduction
International trade is an exchange involving a good or service conducted between at least two different countries. The exchanges can be imports or exportsImports and ExportsImports are the goods and services that are purchased from the rest of the world by a country’s residents, rather than buying domestically. In many countries this trade represents a significant share of their gross domestic product (GDP).
History
While international trade has existed throughout history (for example the Silk Road, Amber Road, Trans Atlantic Slave trade, Salt Roads), its economic, social, and political importance has been on the rise in recent centuries. International trade has a rich history starting with barter system being replaced by Mercantilism in the 16th and 17th Centuries. The 18th Century saw the shift towards liberalism. The First World War changed the entire course of the world trade and countries built walls around themselves with wartime controls. Post world war, as many as five years went into dismantling of the wartime measures and getting back trade to normalcy
Differences with Domestic Trade
1)International trade is, on paper, not different from domestic trade as the motivation and the behavior of parties involved in a trade do not change fundamentally regardless of whether the trade is cross border or not.
2)However, in practical terms, carrying out trade at an international level is usually a more complex process than domestic trade. The main difference is that international trade is typically more costly than domestic trade.
3)This is due to the fact that a border typically imposes additional costs such as tariffs(an excise that is paid on the sale of imported goods), time costs due to border delays, and costs associated with country differences such as language, the legal system, or culture.
Most Traded export products
They are Crude Oil followed by Cars, Processed Petroleum Oils, Phone systems, Integrated Circuits, Autombile parts, Gold, Computers, Aircraft, Diamonds etc.
Top Traded commodities by value – Exports
- Mineral Fuels, Distillation products
- Electronics
- Nuclear Reactors
- Machinery
- Vehicles
- Plastics
- Optical Photo
- Medical apparatus
- Pharma products
- Pearls, Precious Stones.
Largest Countries by International Trade
- European Union
- United States
- China
- Germany
- UK
- Japan
- France
- Netherlands
- Hong Kong
- South Korea
- Italy
- Canada
- Belgium
- India
- Singapore
- Mexico
Eduindex 
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