An export in
international trade
International trade is the exchange of capital, goods, and services across international borders or territories because there is a need or want of goods or services. (see: World economy)
In most countries, such trade represents a significant ...
is a
good
In most contexts, the concept of good denotes the conduct that should be preferred when posed with a choice between possible actions. Good is generally considered to be the opposite of evil and is of interest in the study of ethics, morality, ph ...
produced in one country that is sold into another country or a
service provided in one country for a national or resident of another country. The seller of such goods or the service provider is an ''exporter''; the foreign buyer is an ''
importer''. Services that figure in international trade include financial, accounting and other professional services, tourism, education as well as intellectual property rights.
Exportation of goods often requires the involvement of
customs
Customs is an authority or agency in a country responsible for collecting tariffs and for controlling the flow of goods, including animals, transports, personal effects, and hazardous items, into and out of a country. Traditionally, customs ...
authorities.
Firms
Many
manufacturing
Manufacturing is the creation or production of goods with the help of equipment, labor, machines, tools, and chemical or biological processing or formulation. It is the essence of secondary sector of the economy. The term may refer to a r ...
firms begin their global expansion as exporters and only later switch to another mode for serving a foreign market.
Barriers
There are four main types of export barriers: motivational, informational, operational/resource-based, and knowledge.
Trade barrier
Trade barriers are government-induced restrictions on international trade. According to the theory of comparative advantage, trade barriers are detrimental to the world economy and decrease overall economic efficiency.
Most trade barriers work o ...
s are laws,
regulation
Regulation is the management of complex systems according to a set of rules and trends. In systems theory, these types of rules exist in various fields of biology and society, but the term has slightly different meanings according to context. For ...
s,
policy
Policy is a deliberate system of guidelines to guide decisions and achieve rational outcomes. A policy is a statement of intent and is implemented as a procedure or protocol. Policies are generally adopted by a governance body within an organ ...
, or practices that protect domestically made products from foreign competition. While restrictive business practices sometimes have a similar effect, they are not usually regarded as trade barriers. The most common foreign trade barriers are government-imposed measures and policies that restrict, prevent, or impede the international exchange of goods and services.
Strategic
International agreements limit trade-in and the transfer of certain types of goods and information, e.g., goods associated with weapons of mass destruction, advanced telecommunications, arms and torture and also some art and
archaeological artifact
An artifact, or artefact (see American and British English spelling differences), is a general term for an item made or given shape by humans, such as a tool or a work of art, especially an object of archaeological interest. In archaeology, the ...
s. For example:
*
Nuclear Suppliers Group
The Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) is a multilateral export control regime and a group of nuclear supplier countries that seek to prevent nuclear proliferation by controlling the export of materials, equipment and technology that can be used to m ...
limits trade in nuclear weapons and associated goods (45 countries participate).
* The
Australia Group
The Australia Group is a multilateral export control regime (MECR) and an informal group of countries (now joined by the European Commission) established in 1985 (after the use of chemical weapons by Iraq in 1984) to help member countries to i ...
limits trade in chemical and biological weapons and associated goods (39 countries).
*
Missile Technology Control Regime
The Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR) is a multilateral export control regime. It is an informal political understanding among 35 member states that seek to limit the proliferation of missiles and missile technology. The regime was formed ...
limits trade in the means of delivering weapons of mass destruction (35 countries).
* The
Wassenaar Arrangement
The Wassenaar Arrangement on Export Controls for Conventional Arms and Dual-Use Goods and Technologies is a multilateral export control regime (MECR) with 42 participating states including many former Comecon (Warsaw Pact) countries established ...
limits trade in conventional arms and technological developments (40 countries).
Although the outbreak of COVID-19 sufficiently changed the world economy, people started doing business, so international trade is a key for economic growth. Armenia's economy is dependent on international flows, tourism, and inner production. Competitive export Industries were established which helped the growth of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to generate financial resources. The market shifted to more efficient exporters, which is the effect of trade liberalization on aggregate productivity. Due to the increase of the number of international business activities through a multilateral trading system, RA Government Program, which was approved in February 2019, the government policy became the objective of economic growth. The period established for the program was 2019-2024. Export quality is developed by developing the export volumes and services.
Tariffs
Tariff
A tariff is a tax imposed by the government of a country or by a supranational union on imports or exports of goods. Besides being a source of revenue for the government, import duties can also be a form of regulation of foreign trade and poli ...
s, a tax on a specific good or category of goods exported from or imported to a country, is an economic barrier to trade. A tariff increases the cost of imported or exported goods, and may be used when domestic producers are having difficulty competing with imports. Tariffs may also be used to protect an industry viewed as being of national security concern. Some industries receive protection that has a similar effect to
subsidies
A subsidy or government incentive is a form of financial aid or support extended to an economic sector (business, or individual) generally with the aim of promoting economic and social policy. Although commonly extended from the government, the ter ...
; tariffs reduce the industry's incentives to produce goods quicker, cheaper, and more efficiently, becoming ever less competitive.
The third basis for a tariff involves
dumping. When a producer exports at a loss, its competitors may term this ''dumping''. Another case is when the exporter prices a good lower in the export market than in its domestic market.
The purpose and expected outcome of a tariff is to encourage spending on domestic goods and services rather than their imported equivalents.
Tariffs may create tension between countries, such as the
United States steel tariff in 2002, and when China placed a 14% tariff on imported auto parts. Such tariffs may lead to a complaint with the
World Trade Organization
The World Trade Organization (WTO) is an intergovernmental organization that regulates and facilitates international trade. With effective cooperation
in the United Nations System, governments use the organization to establish, revise, and e ...
(WTO) which sets rules and attempts to resolve trade disputes.
[US/China Trade Tensions](_blank)
, Darren Gersh
Darren Gersh was the Washington, D.C. bureau chief for the PBS show, Nightly Business Report from 1995 through 2013. He made the move to public service when he joined the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau on June 3, 2013. While at the CFPB, G ...
. Retrieved 21 May 2006. If that is unsatisfactory, the exporting country may choose to put a tariff of its own on imports from the other country.
Advantages
Exporting avoids the cost of establishing manufacturing operations in the target country.
Exporting may help a company achieve
experience curve effects and
location economies in their home country.
Ownership advantages include the firm's
asset
In financial accountancy, financial accounting, an asset is any resource owned or controlled by a business or an economic entity. It is anything (tangible or intangible) that can be used to produce positive economic value. Assets represent value ...
s, international experience, and the ability to develop either
low-cost or
differentiated products. The locational advantages of a particular market are a combination of costs,
market potential and
investment risk
Financial risk is any of various types of risk associated with financing, including financial transactions that include company loans in risk of default. Often it is understood to include only downside risk, meaning the potential for financial ...
.
Internationalization
In economics, internationalization or internationalisation is the process of increasing involvement of enterprises in international markets, although there is no agreed definition of internationalization. Internationalization is a crucial strateg ...
advantages are the benefits of retaining a
core competence
A core competency is a concept in management theory introduced by C. K. Prahalad and Gary Hamel.Prahalad, C.K. and Hamel, G. (1990)The core competence of the corporation", Harvard Business Review (v. 68, no. 3) pp. 79–91. It can be define ...
within the company and threading it though the value chain rather than to
license
A license (or licence) is an official permission or permit to do, use, or own something (as well as the document of that permission or permit).
A license is granted by a party (licensor) to another party (licensee) as an element of an agreeme ...
,
outsource
Outsourcing is an agreement in which one company hires another company to be responsible for a planned or existing activity which otherwise is or could be carried out internally, i.e. in-house, and sometimes involves transferring employees and ...
, or sell it.
In relation to the
eclectic paradigm The eclectic paradigm, also known as the OLI Model or OLI Framework (''OLI'' stands for ''Ownership'', ''Location'', and ''Internalization''), is a theory in economics. It is a further development of the internalization theory and published by Joh ...
, companies with meager ownership advantages do not enter foreign markets. If the company and its products are equipped with ownership advantage and internalization advantage, they enter through low-risk modes such as exporting. Exporting requires significantly less investment than other modes, such as
direct investment. Export's lower risk typically reduces the
rate of return
In finance, return is a profit on an investment. It comprises any change in value of the investment, and/or cash flows (or securities, or other investments) which the investor receives from that investment, such as interest payments, coupons, ca ...
on sales versus other modes. Exporting allows managers to exercise production control, but does not provide them the option to exercise as much marketing control. An exporter enlists various intermediaries to manage
marketing management and marketing activities.
Exports also has effect on the Economy. Businesses export goods and services where they have a competitive advantage. This means they are better than any other country at providing that product or have a natural ability to produce either due to their climate or geographical location etc.
Disadvantages
Exporting may not be viable unless appropriate locations can be found abroad.
High transport costs can make exporting uneconomical, particularly for bulk products.
Another drawback is that trade barriers can make exporting uneconomical and risky.
For
small and medium-sized enterprises
Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) or small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) are businesses whose personnel and revenue numbers fall below certain limits. The abbreviation "SME" is used by international organizations such as the World Bank ...
(SMEs) with fewer than 250 employees, export is generally more difficult than serving the domestic market. The lack of knowledge of
trade regulation
Trade regulation is a field of law, often bracketed with antitrust (as in the phrase “antitrust and trade regulation law”), including government regulation of unfair methods of competition and unfair or deceptive business acts or practices. A ...
s, cultural differences, different languages and
foreign-exchange situations, as well as the strain of resources and staff, complicate the process. Two-thirds of SME exporters pursue only one foreign market.
Another disadvantage is the dependency on almost unpredictable exchange rates. The depreciation of foreign currency badly affects exporters. For example, Armenia exports different things - from foodstuff to software. In 2022, the country had an enormous number of Russian visitors and tourists because of the military situation in Russia. This resulted in a change in exchange rates and the appreciation of the Armenian dram. At first, it may seem that Armenia’s economy is growing. In fact, the GDP growth is expected to hit 7% by the IMF. However, exporters, who export products and get paid mostly in dollars, suffer because of the depreciation of the dollar against the Armenian dram. Moreover, Armenia’s other exporting bright spot is the IT industry, since a lot of companies and individuals work for US-based companies and get paid in US dollars. Because of the drastic change in the exchange rates, these people and companies who export their service to the US or other countries and get paid in US dollars, make around 25% less revenue.
Exports could also devalue a local currency to lower export prices. It could also lead to imposition of tariffs on imported goods.
Motivations
The variety of export motivators can lead to selection bias. Size, knowledge of foreign markets, and unsolicited orders motivate firms to along specific dimensions (research, external, reactive).
Macroeconomics
In
macroeconomics
Macroeconomics (from the Greek prefix ''makro-'' meaning "large" + ''economics'') is a branch of economics dealing with performance, structure, behavior, and decision-making of an economy as a whole.
For example, using interest rates, taxes, and ...
, net exports (exports minus imports) are a component of
gross domestic product
Gross domestic product (GDP) is a money, monetary Measurement in economics, measure of the market value of all the final goods and services produced and sold (not resold) in a specific time period by countries. Due to its complex and subjec ...
, along with domestic
consumption
Consumption may refer to:
*Resource consumption
*Tuberculosis, an infectious disease, historically
* Consumption (ecology), receipt of energy by consuming other organisms
* Consumption (economics), the purchasing of newly produced goods for curren ...
,
physical investment In macroeconomics, investment "consists of the additions to the nation's capital stock of buildings, equipment, software, and inventories during a year" or, alternatively, investment spending — "spending on productive physical capital such as mach ...
, and
government spending
Government spending or expenditure includes all government consumption, investment, and transfer payments. In national income accounting, the acquisition by governments of goods and services for current use, to directly satisfy the individual o ...
. Foreign demand for a country's exports depends positively on income in foreign countries and negatively on the strength of the producing country's currency (i.e., on how expensive it is for foreign customers to buy the producing country's
currency
A currency, "in circulation", from la, currens, -entis, literally meaning "running" or "traversing" is a standardization of money in any form, in use or circulation as a medium of exchange, for example banknotes and coins.
A more general def ...
in the
foreign exchange market
The foreign exchange market (Forex, FX, or currency market) is a global decentralized or over-the-counter (OTC) market for the trading of currencies. This market determines foreign exchange rates for every currency. It includes all aspec ...
).
See also
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Comparative advantage
In an economic model, agents have a comparative advantage over others in producing a particular good if they can produce that good at a lower relative opportunity cost or autarky price, i.e. at a lower relative marginal cost prior to trade. Comp ...
*
Commodity currency
A commodity currency is a currency that co-moves with the world prices of primary commodity products, due to these countries' heavy dependency on the export of certain raw materials for income. Commodity currencies are most prevalent in developin ...
*
Commodity Classification Automated Tracking System {{refimprove, date=April 2007
Commodity Classification Automated Tracking System (CCATS) is an alphanumeric code assigned by the United States Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) to products that it has classified under the Export Administratio ...
*
Demand vacuum Demand vacuum in economics and marketing is the effect created by consumer demand on the supply chain. The term refers to an analogy whereby consumer demand for a product or service creates a "vacuum" at the end of the supply chain which "pulls" th ...
*
e-commerce
E-commerce (electronic commerce) is the activity of electronically buying or selling of products on online services or over the Internet. E-commerce draws on technologies such as mobile commerce, electronic funds transfer, supply chain manageme ...
*
Embargo
Economic sanctions are commercial and financial penalties applied by one or more countries against a targeted self-governing state, group, or individual. Economic sanctions are not necessarily imposed because of economic circumstances—they m ...
*
Export-oriented industrialization
Export-oriented industrialization (EOI) sometimes called export substitution industrialization (ESI), export led industrialization (ELI) or export-led growth is a trade and economic policy aiming to speed up the industrialization process of a ...
*
Export control
Export control is legislation that regulates the export of goods, software and technology. Some items could potentially be useful for purposes that are contrary to the interest of the exporting country. These items are considered to be ''controlled ...
*
Export performance Export performance is the relative success or failure of the efforts of a business, firm or nation to sell domestically-Economic production, produced Good (economics and accounting), goods and Service (economics), services in other nations.
Export ...
*
Export promotion
Trade promotion (sometimes referred to as export promotion) is an umbrella term for economic policies, development interventions and private initiatives aimed at improving the trade performance of an economic area. Such an economic area can includ ...
*
Export strategy
*
Export subsidy
Export subsidy is a government policy to encourage export of goods and discourage sale of goods on the domestic market through direct payments, low-cost loans, tax relief for exporters, or government-financed international advertising. An expor ...
*
Export Yellow Pages The Export Yellow Pages (EYP), was a multi-media trade and promotion resource for exporters that provides U.S. companies, exporters and export related service providers across all industries a convenient way to engage in export promotion and establi ...
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Free trade
Free trade is a trade policy that does not restrict imports or exports. It can also be understood as the free market idea applied to international trade. In government, free trade is predominantly advocated by political parties that hold econo ...
*
Free trade agreement
A free-trade agreement (FTA) or treaty is an agreement according to international law to form a free-trade area between the cooperating states. There are two types of trade agreements: bilateral and multilateral. Bilateral trade agreements occur ...
*
Free trade area
A free-trade area is the region encompassing a trade bloc whose member countries have signed a free trade agreement (FTA). Such agreements involve cooperation between at least two countries to reduce trade barriers, import quotas and tariffs, and ...
*
Import
An import is the receiving country in an export from the sending country. Importation and exportation are the defining financial transactions of international trade.
In international trade, the importation and exportation of goods are limited ...
*
Infant industry argument
The infant industry argument is an economic rationale for trade protectionism. The core of the argument is that nascent industries often do not have the economies of scale that their older competitors from other countries may have, and thus need ...
*
International trade
International trade is the exchange of capital, goods, and services across international borders or territories because there is a need or want of goods or services. (see: World economy)
In most countries, such trade represents a significant ...
*
List of countries by exports
List of countries by merchandise exports
''The table initially ranks each country or territory with their latest available merchandise or goods export values, and can be reranked (sort by ascending or descending) by any of the sources.''
No ...
*
Protectionism
Protectionism, sometimes referred to as trade protectionism, is the economic policy of restricting imports from other countries through methods such as tariffs on imported goods, import quotas, and a variety of other government regulations. ...
*
Sales
Sales are activities related to selling or the number of goods sold in a given targeted time period. The delivery of a service for a cost is also considered a sale.
The seller, or the provider of the goods or services, completes a sale in r ...
*
Trade barrier
Trade barriers are government-induced restrictions on international trade. According to the theory of comparative advantage, trade barriers are detrimental to the world economy and decrease overall economic efficiency.
Most trade barriers work o ...
**
Tariff
A tariff is a tax imposed by the government of a country or by a supranational union on imports or exports of goods. Besides being a source of revenue for the government, import duties can also be a form of regulation of foreign trade and poli ...
**
Non-tariff barriers to trade
Non-tariff barriers to trade (NTBs; also called non-tariff measures, NTMs) are trade barriers that restrict imports or exports of goods or services through mechanisms other than the simple imposition of tariffs.
The Southern African Development C ...
References
External links
*
UK Institute Of ExportWorld Bank Top exportersExport Import Data
{{Authority control
Freight transport
International trade