International Macroeconomics : International Trade

There is no doubt that increasing in international trade is supporting the economic growth across the world, raising incomes and creating jobs. However, international trade can also some create economic obstacles, such as the international context and the market policy and regulations of each country, and consequently it can be said that the effects would have positive and negative sides, and it is useful to mention all of them and to take them into consideration.

The international trade sector of the U.S. economy continues to draw attention in economic and political circles. It is true that, the international market has become increasingly important as a source of demand for U.S. production and a source of supply for U.S. consumption. Indeed, it is substantially more important than is implied by the usual measures that relate the size of the international sector to the overall economy. This paper explores the role international trade now plays in the U.S. economy and answers the important questions for economic policy: How does international trade affect economic well-being? Who gains and who loses from free

Which is cost difference determines the patterns of international trade. Absolute advantage is trade benefits when each country is at least cost producer of one of the goods being traded. In the 1800s, David Ricardo developed the theory of comparative advantage to measure gains from trades. This theory is based on comparative advantage and it states each nation should specialize in production of those goods for which its relatively more efficient with a lower opportunity cost.

Although multinational corporations and international trade institutions are the subject of criticism, not all observers share a negative perspective. Many commentaries are published which speak in favor of beneficial and positive accomplishments, especially in relation to the international institutions. For instance, free trade positively contributes to overall development of the world. Global free trade promotes global economic growth, it creates jobs, makes companies more competitive, and lowers

There are several theories about international trade. Through these theories, there seems to be closely linked and each one deriving from one another.

International trade is the exchange of capital, goods, and services across international borders or territories. In most countries, such trade represents a significant share of gross domestic product (GDP). While international trade has been present throughout much of history, its economic, social, and political importance has been on the rise in recent centuries. Increasing international trade is crucial to the continuance of globalization. Without international trade, nations would be limited to the goods and services produced within their own borders.

In theory, high tariffs and importation quotas are beneficial to domestic economies because they reduce the competition from foreign manufacturers for domestic industry. However, the effectiveness and advisability of tariffs and quotas is severely constrained by various factors that cannot be ignored. First, the relative weakness of the U.S. dollar makes it difficult for domestic manufacturers to compete internationally. Second, the fact that other nations (such as China, most notably) artificially manipulate the value of their currency to keep their domestic manufacturing costs low undermines the value of tariffs on their goods. Third, neither tariffs nor quotas is an effective mechanism when the goods at issue are no longer even produced domestically, as in the case of many of the cheaper consumer goods that the U.S. typically imports in high volumes from foreign manufacturers. Fourth, one consequence of controlling foreign competition through tariffs and quotas is that they are usually targeted to specific foreign nations, which can simply open the door to other foreign manufacturers from other nations to whatever extent those mechanisms are effective against specific nations targeted by them.

To elaborate on the points made above it’s essential to consider the theories of international trade, as comparative advantage is an important concept for explaining pattern of trade. David Ricardo firstly introduces the concept of comparative advantage. It is then well recognized as the Ricardian model. In the neoclassical theory of international trade, Heckscher and Ohlin examine the effect of different

Although the concept of free trade and globalisation may subtly imply a polarity between the developed and developing worlds, it can be argued that, in order to function successfully, the pressure to create a competitive and comparative advantage hold all nations on a level-playing field. Sinclair Davidson (2015) cited David Ricardo (1821) in his argument that foreign trade is, indeed, beneficial to a country, for a number of reasons. By reducing the cost of commodities and raising living standards through the creation of jobs, international trade allows developing countries to create a competitive advantage.

Over many years there has been many conceptual theories devised to help explain the reasons why there is trade within the world accompanied by the possibilities that gains could or could not be made. This piece of work will examine four main theories put forward by Adam Smith (Absolute advantage, 1776) which was then expanded on by David Ricardo with his theory of the Ricardian Model (Comparative advantage, 1817). Also including the Heckscher-Ohlin model (relative factor abundance, 1919, 1933) and the ideas of New Trade Theory (Economies of Scale and Imperfect Competition). These ideas will be evaluated and synthesised to see if these explanations truly explain the reasons of trade theory.

The theory attributes the cause and benefits of international trade to the differences among countries in the relative opportunity costs of producing the same commodities. In his theory, Ricardo does not see the fact that one country could produce everything more efficiently than another as an argument against free international trade.

The International Trade Concepts simulation helps one to learn the advantages and limitations of international trade. One can also take what is learned from the simulation and relate it to the U.S. economy and the effects international trade has on it. Learning about how fiscal and monetary policies affect the exchange rate is important as well. Not only can one apply what was learned in the simulation to the U.S. economy but they can also apply it to their workplace. The Concept Summary of the simulation helps to make these applications.

Although free trade has theoretically never been in full practice, it has become, by definition, to provide for unrestricted trade between countries with the presence of tariffs to solely bring about revenue to the government (Eaton 1913, 78). With the installment of free trade, a country is pushed to maximize production (Eaton 1913, 78). Its industries can center their resources and efforts on those products with the least expense, or opportunity cost, and resultantly sell or barter the goods to another country (Eaton 1913, 78)

International trade implies the openness of the economy. It is the antithesis of self-sufficiency economy, where a country can own efforts to cover all the needs of its citizens. Currently, the development of an open economy can be seen in many countries. The advantages of this trend are simple: international trade in general defines the standards of the world market and couples with the reduction in the cost of goods. This happens due to the increased specialization in the distribution of production, which allows to allocate resources in the most rational way and encourages competition between domestic and foreign producers, which improves the quality of products. Open trade improves the investment climate and stimulates the inflow of

International trade is important to the overall economic activity of nations, including the growth and domestics’ production. According to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and WTO, international trade has grown remarkably in recent decades as shown in figure 1 and 2.