Defining international trade in services as a specific form of world economic relations for the exchange of services between sellers and buyers of different countries, experts pay attention to its features:
International trade in services is closely related and/or interconnected with trade in physical goods. As a rule, the purchase and sale of material goods entails a whole train of services: marketing, transport, financial, insurance, service (maintenance). And the more technically complex and expensive a material good is, the wider the range of services associated with its movement. At the same time, trade in services increasingly contributes to the promotion of physical goods in the foreign market: marketing research and market analysis, financial and information support, improvement of transport support and other services “pave the way” for material goods and increase the efficiency of trade in them. Thus, if traditionally physical goods “pulled” services with them, now, with very tough competition in the global market for physical goods, “pushing” them to other countries is carried out with the help and thanks to services.
Due to their specificity, not all services can be the object of foreign trade. According to the criterion of possible participation in international trade, all services are divided into three groups:
services that can be the object of foreign trade. These, for example, include transport services: also international tourism, financial, insurance, banking services;
services that, due to their characteristics, cannot be offered on the world market. Typically these include utilities and some household services. Note that the range of such services is gradually narrowing;
services that may or may not be the object of foreign trade. These include most of the services; their range is expanding with scientific and technological progress. Thus, the services of fast food systems, cultural institutions, healthcare, sports, etc. are increasingly being drawn into foreign trade.
International trade in services more than trade in physical goods:
protected by the state from foreign competition. Many governments believe that large-scale imports of services can pose a threat to sovereignty and security. Therefore, international trade in services is regulated more strictly by the state;
monopolized. “The foreign share in the banking total of the French bank Credit Lyon, which ranks ninth in the world rating list, is 46.4%. In the secondary insurance market, 32 largest insurance companies have concentrated in their hands more than 70% of its volume. Each of the six largest audit companies in the world have their representative offices in more than 110 countries, and their total share in industry revenue is estimated at 30%; 60% of the global consulting services market is concentrated in the hands of 40 companies";
diversified. The volume of purchase and sale of entire packages of services is expanding, as a result of which the risks from transactions are reduced.
International trade in services is a special sector of world trade, the object of which is a variety of types of services.
The peculiarity of a service as a product is its usefulness not as a thing, but as an activity. Services cannot be accumulated or stored. Some services are classified as non-exportable goods, since their consumption coincides with the process of creation, and the transportation costs accompanying their receipt may be too significant. For example, the cost of a woman's haircut and hairstyle in 1989 in dollars ranged from $46.4 in Tokyo, $36.8 in Zurich and Paris, to $9.9 in Mexico City and $9.5 in Moscow. But no matter how expensive the services of a hairdresser in Tokyo or Paris are, it’s hardly worth spending money on tickets to Mexico City or Moscow to save on a haircut.
The rapid development of the service sector, which has led to an increase in the volume of international exchange of services, has been observed in developed countries since the 1930s.
However, the starting point for the change in the role of this sector in the economy is considered to be the mid-1950s, when in the United States the number of people employed in the service sector exceeded the number of people employed in material production. In the early 1980s. in the USA, and a few years later in Western Europe, the gross product of the sphere of interpersonal services exceeded the gross product of the sphere of material production. The rate of its growth exceeded similar indicators in the sphere of material production: in France - 2 times, in the USA and Germany - 6 times, in England - 30 times. This trend is also observed on the scale of the global economy: the share of services now amounts to almost 2/3 of the world’s gross product, in a number of developed countries it reaches 70-80% of GDP.
The movement of services as an object of international trade is reflected in the current account of the balance of payments. According to the methodology for compiling the balance of payments developed International Monetary Fund 11 of them are taken into account in the service account basic types: transport services (passenger and freight transportation); services related to travel (business, tourism); communication services (postal, courier, telephone and other communications between residents and non-residents); construction of facilities abroad; insurance of non-residents by resident insurance companies; financial services (commission for opening letters of credit, currency exchange, brokerage services, etc.); computer and information services; royalties and license fees; other business services (intermediary, leasing, legal, accounting, advertising, etc.); personal, cultural and recreational services; government services.
Other international organizations use their own classification approaches for various analytical purposes. In particular, analysts World Bank (IBRD) use a more generalized approach and divide all services into two groups: factorial, associated with the movement of capital, labor and other components and tools of the production process, and non-factorial, which are non-financial in nature (transport, tourism and others).
In accordance with the approach taken UNCTAD - International economic organization for trade and development, there are 8 types of services: financial; communication services; construction and design; transport; professional and business (legal, medical, etc.); commercial; tourist; audiovisual (television, video-cinema).
According to the WTO, over 600 types of services are provided in the world. The WTO classifier systematizes them into 12 groups: commercial services; communication services; construction and related engineering services; distributor services; educational services; security services environment; financial services; health and social services; travel services; services for organizing recreation, cultural and sports events; transport services; other services).
Methods of international trade in services cover: - cross-border deliveries, that is, the provision of services across borders. The supplier and buyer of the service do not move across the border, only the service crosses it (services transmitted through means of communication - consultations by telephone/fax, delivery of services by mail, transfer of money through banks; materialized services (technical report of a consultant, disk with software), transport services;
- consumption abroad - movement of consumers to the country of export of services (tourism, educational services and medical services in institutions of another country, repair services for ships sent to another country for this purpose);
- commercial presence - relocation of a service provider abroad (opening a foreign commercial representative office - creating a bank branch, subsidiary, etc.);
- presence individuals - temporary relocation of individuals to another country for the purpose of providing services there (tours of theaters, artists, lectures by university professors, services of architects, lawyers, invitation of a foreign consultant, etc.).
Structural shifts in international trade in goods towards a growing share of finished and high-tech products have caused structural changes in trade in services. In the structure of services, there is a rapid increase in the share of services of a scientific, technical, production, financial, credit and commercial nature, which is accompanied by the emergence of new types of services, such as engineering, leasing, factoring, consulting, computer and information services. The expansion of the list of international services has largely become possible thanks to the emergence of modern information technologies and telecommunications. Since the mid-1990s. The Internet has become a powerful factor in the growth of global trade in services.
In 2010, global services exports amounted to 3.7 trillion. dollars, and the volume of imports is 3.5 trillion. dollars. In the modern structure of the world services market, the largest specific gravity have computer and information services (65.09%) and transport services (21.02%); communication services to become 6.06%; other business services - 4.64%; financial services - 3.15%; others - 0.05%.
The global turnover of services is predominantly concentrated in the group of industrialized countries. In 2010, the share of economically developed countries in global business services exports was close to 90%. The world leaders in the export of commercial services are: USA (14.1%), Great Britain (7%), Germany (6.8%), France (4.3%), China and Japan (3.8% each), Spain (3.6%), Italy (3%), Singapore and Hong Kong (2.6%). Russia ranks 23rd with a share of 1.2%, Ukraine is not among the 50 leading countries. The world's leading importers of commercial services are: USA (10.5%), Germany (8.1%), UK (5.1%), China (5%), Japan (4.7%), France (4% ), Italy (3.6%), Singapore (2.6%), Hong Kong (1.4%). Russia ranks 16th with a share of 1.9%, Ukraine is not among the 50 leading countries.
Ukraine's participation in international trade in services also runs counter to global trends. It largely boils down to “providing the service of its territory” for the transit of Russian energy resources, which is why the largest share of Ukrainian trade in services falls on the Russian Federation (44.2% of exports and 14.5% of imports in 2010), and the largest is the share of computer and information services, and transport services, primarily pipeline transport services, is 28.9%. At the same time, the level of exports of business, tourism services, and especially information services, does not correspond to the potential of Ukraine.
The largest share in the total volume of Ukrainian exports falls on transport (67.1%), various business, professional and technical services (12.7%), and repair services (3.3%). The greatest growth for 2000-2010. reach insurance (2.5 times), financial (2.2 times) and computer services (2.5 times). The largest shares in the total volume of imports of services were transport (21.1%), financial services (19.9%), various business, professional and technical services (15.7%), government services (11.3%). Imports of financial (2 times), insurance (1.7 times), as well as services to individuals and in the cultural and recreational industries (1.7 times) grew at the fastest rates. Imports of computer and government services decreased.
Over the past three decades, the service sector has been one of the most dynamically developing sectors of the world economy. Exchange of services plays an important role in international trade. In 2013, exports of services were valued at $4.6 trillion, while global exports of goods approached $18.3 trillion. The term “services” covers several dozen types of activities, the products of which can be defined as “services.” . The services include all types of transport activities, information transmission services, tourism, construction, education, medicine, financial and banking activities, etc.
A distinctive feature of international trade in services from international trade in goods is diversity, heterogeneity and versatility various types services, the complexity of a unified approach to regulating their import and export, and the application of generally accepted international trade standards to trade in services: in particular, most favored nation treatment and national treatment. The herd mentioned above is one of the main reasons that, until the early 1990s. trade in services was not covered by a general multilateral intergovernmental agreement like the GATT. At the same time, certain types of services were regulated by sectoral interstate multilateral agreements. And only by the mid-1990s. As a result of the Uruguay round of multilateral negotiations, the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) was created, containing common legal norms for all types of services. International exchange of services is developing at a rapid pace.
International transport and international private (tourism) and business (business) travel account for 47% of the value of service exports. About 75% of the value of services is exported by developed countries. According to the WTO, in 2013 the US accounted for 14.3% of world exports of services, the UK - 6.3%, Germany - 6.2%, France - 5.1%, China - 4.4%, India and The Netherlands - 3.2% each. These countries, with comparable shares, occupy a leading position in the import of services (Table 2.7). Russia's role in international trade in services is small (in world exports of services - 1.4%, in world imports - 2.8%).
Table 2.7
International trade in services in 1970-2013, billion dollars
Source-. WTO International Trade Statistics 1970-2014.
Rapid growth rates of international trade in services and expansion of their positions in the economies of all countries - characteristic feature development of the modern world economy.
Scientific and technological progress is one of the main circumstances that changes not only the place of services in the economy, but also the traditional understanding of this area of the economy. Services today are knowledge-intensive sectors of the economy that use the latest information Technology. The very concept of “service” is defined today by a group of such knowledge-intensive industries as transport, global telecommunication systems; financial, credit and banking services rich in electronics; computer and information services; modern healthcare; education.
The development of the structure of the service sector occurs in several directions. First of all, this is the emergence of completely new types of services, such as computer services, information networks, e-commerce, logistics (or management of commodity flows), global transport systems using many types of transport, united in continuous transport chains, etc. Next, active separation occurs and the separation into independent industries of a number of types of services that were previously of an intra-company auxiliary nature. This applies to marketing services, advertising, auditing, accounting and legal services and many other types of services as independent areas of business. Finally, a notable phenomenon has been the formation of large integrated companies that provide the consumer with a “package” of services, allowing the use of a single supplier without the burden of dealing with providers of other specific ancillary services.
International exchange of services is developing at a rapid pace. According to the WTO Secretariat, the capacity of the global services market in 1998 was more than 3 trillion. dollars. However, statistics on international trade in services registered the value of world exports of services at 1.8 trillion. dollars. This is due to the imperfection of statistical accounting systems for all four methods of selling services. According to available estimates, in 2020, global exports of services may equal global exports of goods.
The rapid growth of international trade in services and the expansion of their positions in the economies of all countries is a characteristic feature of the development of the modern world economy.
The dynamics of service industries is determined by a number of long-term factors economic development.
Scientific and technological progress- this is one of the main circumstances that changes not only the place of services in the economy, but also the traditional idea of this sector of the economy. Services today are knowledge-intensive sectors of the economy that use the latest information technologies.
The very concept of “service” is defined today by a group of such knowledge-intensive industries as transport, global telecommunication systems, financial, credit and banking services rich in electronics, computer and information services, modern healthcare, and education. In the mid-90s, 80% of information technology was sent to the service sector in the United States, and about 75% in Great Britain and Japan.
In the service sector, the formation of large and major transnational corporations has intensified. Here are typical figures illustrating this process. In 1997, of the 100 largest TNCs in the world, according to Fortune magazine, 48 were in the service sector, and 52 were in industry.
In the 1980s and 1990s, the service sector (production and international exchange) became a major sector of business transactions. The share of service production is 55-68% in the gross domestic product of most countries of the world. 55-70% of workers on the farm are employed in the production of services. The share of services in international trade in goods and services exceeded 20% of their total value.
The development of the structure of the service sector occurs in several directions.
First of all, this is the emergence of completely new types of services, such as computer services, information networks, e-commerce, logistics (or commodity flow management), global transport systems using many modes of transport, combined into continuous transport chains, etc.
Further, this is the active separation and separation into independent industries of a number of types of services that were previously of an intra-company auxiliary nature. This applies to marketing services, advertising, auditing, accounting and legal services and many other types of services that have become independent areas of business.
Finally, a notable phenomenon has been the formation of large integrated companies that provide the consumer with a “package” of services, allowing the use of a single service provider without the burden of dealing with providers of other specific ancillary services. According to this principle, large transport companies operate, taking upon themselves all deliveries of services associated with the transport chain and included in it and providing the consumer of transport services with the opportunity to deliver cargo “from door to door” and “just on time”.
As a result, a multifaceted, multifunctional global services market has developed and an urgent need has arisen to create an adequate system of multilateral regulation of international trade in services. Thus, in the mid-80s, for the first time, the international exchange of services became the subject of comprehensive international negotiations, and in January 1995, the first ever General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) began to operate within the World Trade Organization (WTO).
Products and services in international trade are closely interrelated and interact with each other, and this is one of the reasons for the inclusion of services in the terms of reference of the WTO. Many types of services emerged as independent sectors of international trade at a certain stage of development of the exchange of goods. Thus, international transport, banking and insurance, logistics and many other service industries emerged. However, they retained a close connection with trade in goods. Any foreign trade operation with goods would be impossible without the use of transport, telecommunications, banking services, insurance, electronic systems storage and processing of information and many others. On the one hand, many types of services are in demand because they serve trade. Therefore, when servicing international trade in goods, the international exchange of services depends on the growth rate, structure and geographical distribution of commodity flows in international trade. On the other hand, it would be a serious mistake not to note that the development of international trade in goods and services depends on a number of general, deep, global processes occurring in the world. This defined the structure of this work, the main goal of which is to give the reader a fairly complete and systematic understanding of international trade in services and the multilateral system of its regulation operating within the WTO against the backdrop of growing internationalization and globalization of the economy.
4. Foreign trade in goods
7. International trade and foreign trade policy
8. Foreign trade balance
1. Forms of international economic relations
The national economy, with the help of foreign economic relations, or IEO, is connected with the world economy. International economic relations take the following forms.
1. International trade in goods is the sphere of international commodity-money relations, or the totality of foreign trade of all countries of the world. It, in turn, is divided into trade: a) raw materials, b) machinery and equipment, c) consumer goods.
2. Trade in services is trade in consumer goods that primarily do not have a material form. It covers: transport; trade in licenses and knowledge; tourism; intermediary services in international trade; financial services; information, advertising and other services.
The growth rate of trade in services is higher than trade in goods.
3. Export of capital - movement of capital across national borders. Capital exists in loan and entrepreneurial form. It can be private, public or the capital of international organizations. Transnational corporations and banks play a key role in this area.
4. International labor migration - movement, resettlement of the working population for economic reasons. Main migration flows: low-skilled labor from developing countries; highly qualified specialists (“brain drain”) to developed regions from countries with transition economies and some developing countries.
5. Economic integration - qualitatively new stage rapprochement, interweaving of individual national economies, which in the future leads to the creation of a single international economy (for example, the European Union). In its highest phase, it involves the free movement of goods and services, capital and labor, the creation of a single currency and political integration.
6. International monetary relations - mediate other forms of IEO.
2. Classic theories of international trade
Absolute Advantage Theory
During the period of transition of leading countries to large-scale machine production, Adam Smith raised the question of rational international trade. In his famous book “An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations” (I776), dedicated to the criticism of mercantilism, he suggested that not only the sale, but also the purchase of goods on the foreign market could be beneficial for the state, and also tried to determine which goods It is profitable to export and which ones to import. In the literature, his approach is called principle(or models) absolute advantage. A. Smith highlighted some general principles, which he considered characteristic of the activities of a rational economic entity, and transferred them to foreign trade.
“The fundamental rule of every prudent head of a family is not to attempt to make at home such items as would cost more to manufacture than if purchased from outside. The tailor does not try to sew his own boots, but buys them from the shoemaker. The shoemaker does not try to sew his own clothes, but resorts to the services of a tailor. The farmer tries neither one nor the other, but uses the services of both of these artisans. They all find it more profitable for themselves to expend all their labor in that field in which they have some advantage over their neighbors, and to buy everything they need in exchange for a part of the product, or, what is the same thing, for the price of a part of the product of their labor.
Theory of comparative advantage
D. Ricardo, noting the specifics of international economic relations, created a model in which he showed that non-compliance with A. Smith’s principle is not an obstacle to mutually beneficial trade. D. Ricardo opened law of comparative advantage: A country should specialize in exporting goods in which it has the greatest absolute advantage (if it has an absolute advantage in both goods) or the least absolute disadvantage (if it has an absolute advantage in neither product). He gives the now textbook example of an exchange of English cloth for Portuguese wine, which results in both countries benefiting, even if the absolute costs of producing cloth and wine in Portugal are lower than in England.
Heckscher-Ohlin theory
At the end of the 19th century. - early 20th century there have been structural changes in international trade. The role of natural differences as a factor in the international division of labor has decreased significantly. The same can be said about differences in labor productivity, since trade between countries with approximately the same level of development (the United States and European countries) was quite active.
At this time, Swedish economists Eli Heckscher and Bertil Ohlin tried to explain the reasons for international trade in manufactured goods. The main principles of the new theory were formulated by E. Heckscher in a short newspaper article published in 1919. In the 20s and 30s. these provisions were generalized and developed by his student B. Olin. The American economist P. Samuelson also made a certain contribution to the development of this theory.
According to their theory, countries export those goods that mainly use surplus factors in their production. According to the authors of the theory, there are three main factors: labor, capital and land. However, the Heckscher-Ohlin theory is two-factor, since it compares only two of the three factors, for example, labor and capital. Thus, some goods are labor-intensive and others are capital-intensive. Different countries are endowed with labor and capital to varying degrees. Consequently, in a country where there is a lot of labor resources and not enough capital, labor will be relatively cheap and capital will be expensive, and vice versa, in a country where there are few labor resources and there is sufficient capital, labor will be expensive and capital will be cheap . Each of these countries will export those goods that are comparatively cheaper to produce, using more of the “cheap factor of production”.
Using the Heckscher-Ohlin model as an example, let us consider the theory of comparative advantage in dynamics, taking into account the trend towards economic growth.
Population growth, improved skills of the workforce, development of new lands and deposits, investment in production - all this affects the economic growth of the country and can lead to changes in supply and demand.
Leontief's paradox. The famous American economist (of Russian origin) Vasily Leontiev, studying the structure of US exports and imports in 1956, discovered that, contrary to the Heckscher-Ohlin theory, relatively more labor-intensive goods predominated in exports, and capital-intensive goods dominated in imports. This result became known as Leontief's paradox.
Further research showed that the contradiction discovered by V. Leontiev can be eliminated if more than two factors of production are taken into account when analyzing the structure of trade.
What explanation did V. Leontiev give to his paradox? He hypothesized that, in any combination with a given amount of capital, one man-year of American labor is equivalent to three man-years of foreign labor. This means that the United States is indeed a labor-abundant country, so there is no paradox.
V. Leontiev also suggested that the greater productivity of American labor is associated with the higher qualifications of American workers. He conducted a statistical test that showed that the United States exports goods that require more skilled labor than that spent on the production of “competing imports.” To do this, V. Leontiev divided all types of labor into five skill levels and calculated how many man-years of labor for each skill level groups needed to produce $1 million in US exports and “competing imports.” It turned out that exported goods required significantly more skilled labor than imported ones.
3. Alternative theories of international trade
In 1991, the American economist Michael Porter published the book “Competitive Advantages of Countries” (in Russian translation the book was published under the title “International Competition”), in which he proposed a new approach to analyzing the development of international trade
Competitive advantages that allow a company to achieve success in the global market depend, on the one hand, on a correctly chosen competitive strategy, and on the other, on the relationship between the factors (determinants) of these competitive advantages. To succeed in the global market, it is necessary to combine a correctly chosen competitive strategy of the company with the competitive advantages of the country. M. Porter identifies four determinants of a country's competitive advantage. Firstly, the availability of factors of production, and in modern conditions main role are played by the so-called developed specialized factors (scientific and technical knowledge, highly qualified labor force, infrastructure, etc.), purposefully created by the country. Secondly, the parameters of domestic demand for the products of this industry, which, depending on the volume and structure, allows for the use of economies of scale, stimulates innovations in improving product quality, and pushes firms to enter the foreign market. Thirdly, the presence of competitive supplier industries in the country (which ensures quick access to the necessary resources) and related industries that produce complementary products (which makes it possible to interact in the field of technology, marketing, service, exchange information, etc.). Finally, fourthly, the competitiveness of the industry depends on the national characteristics of the strategy, structure and rivalry of firms, i.e., on what are the conditions in the country that determine the features of the creation and management of firms, and what is the nature of competition in the domestic market.
M. Porter emphasizes that countries have the greatest chance of success in those industries or their segments where all four determinants of competitive advantage (the so-called national “diamond”) are most favorable. Moreover, a national “diamond” is a system whose components are mutually reinforcing and each determinant influences all the others. An important role in this process is played by the state, which, by pursuing a targeted economic policy, influences the parameters of factors of production and domestic demand, the conditions for the development of supplier industries and related industries, the structure of firms and the nature of competition in the domestic market.
Thus, according to M Porter’s theory, competition, including in the global market, is a dynamic, developing process based on innovation and constant technology updates. Among others, it influences the development of international trade.
In his theory, Porter introduces the concept of country competitiveness. It is national competitiveness, from his point of view, that determines success or failure in specific sectors of production and the place that a country occupies in the world economic system.
National competitiveness is determined by the ability of industry to constantly develop and innovate. Initially, national companies achieve competitive advantage by changing the basis on which they compete. What allows them to maintain their advantage is the constant improvement of the product, production method and other factors, so quickly that competitors cannot catch up and overtake them. Competition is not equilibrium, but constant change. Improving and updating the industry is a continuous process. Therefore, at the heart of the explanation of a country's competitive advantage is the role of the home country in stimulating renewal and improvement (i.e., stimulating the production of innovation). Thus, it turns out that the process of creating and maintaining competitiveness is extremely localized. Differences in the economies of countries, in their culture, population, infrastructure, governance, national values and even in history - all this, to one degree or another, affects the competitiveness of national companies. Porter shows that, despite the increasing importance of globalization, national competitiveness is determined by a set of factors that depend on specific, local conditions.
A country's competitive advantage in the international market is determined by a certain set of determinants, a “national diamond,” as the author calls it. It includes four components:
Rybczynski's theorem
English economist of Polish origin, later chief economist of the English company Lasard Bros. T.M. Rybchinsky in 1955, while still a student, drew attention to the fact that the rapid development of some industries often has a depressing effect on others, and proved the theorem of the relationship between the growth of factor supply and the increase in production.
Taking almost the same premises as the Stolper-Samuelson theorem, except for the premise of changes in prices, which are considered constant, Rybczynski showed that there is a direct relationship between the growth of factors of production in one of the industries and depression or even a decline in production in others.
Rybczynski Theorem - an increasing supply of one of the factors of production leads to a disproportionately larger percentage increase in production and income in the industry for which this factor is used relatively more intensively, and to a decrease in production and income in the industry in which this factor is used relatively more intensively less intense.
4. Foreign trade in goods
Foreign trade in goods is part of international trade and is a specific form of exchange of goods between sellers and buyers from different countries.
Trade means acquisition of economic goods with the aim of making a profit from their subsequent sale. Trade occupies an independent place in the system of social division of labor. It is an integral link in the chain of economic relations of society, built on the principles of division of labor and commodity exchange.
The economic essence of trade can be defined, firstly, as the transfer of products of human labor from one stage of production to another and, secondly, as the transfer of these products from producers to consumers, without which the process of expanded production is impossible.
According to the principle of territoriality, trade is divided into internal and external.
Historically, foreign trade arose as trade between coastal states (for example, the Phoenicians, etc.). Land trade developed more slowly due to the significant costs of organizing it and the dangers, which are many times greater than transporting goods by sea.
Foreign trade contributes to the expansion of production, the creation and improvement of communications both within the country and between states, the emergence of usury, and then commercial capital, the development of international lending and insurance.
Foreign trade is divided into export and import. The excess of exports over imports means that the state has a trade surplus. An excess of imports over exports means a passive trade balance.
A trade surplus is an indicator of the favorable economic development of a state. Therefore, export promotion is often elevated to a basic principle economic policy states.
Foreign trade is characterized by three indicators: the volume of foreign trade turnover, commodity structure and geographical structure.
Foreign trade operations include main and auxiliary operations.
The main operations are contractual transactions for the purchase and sale of goods or the exchange of goods (barter), i.e. these transactions are recorded in foreign trade agreements.
Auxiliary operations ensure that the main operations are carried out properly. They include operations for the transportation and forwarding of goods, cargo insurance, financing of foreign trade operations, settlements between exporters and importers, guaranteeing their mutual obligations, as well as customs and other operations, including agency agreements with intermediaries, suppliers of export and customers of imported goods, with advertising agencies and organizations researching market conditions.
Depending on the complexity of the main operation, importers and exporters perform up to 10 or more auxiliary operations, either independently or with the involvement of other firms and organizations.
Settlements between counterparties to foreign trade transactions are usually made with both their own and borrowed funds. In order to reduce foreign exchange costs for the import of large quantities of equipment by enterprises, compensation transactions are widely used in international practice, under the terms of which loans provided by large foreign firms are repaid with supplies products. Partial cash repayment is also possible.
In terms of the size of its surplus, Russia ranks third in the world after Germany and Japan.
The specificity of the foreign trade structure of our country continues to be, on the one hand, the traditional fuel and raw materials nature of Russian exports and, on the other hand, imports rich in equipment and consumer goods.
According to the Law of the Russian Federation “On State Regulation of Foreign Trade Activities”, the Government of the Russian Federation may introduce quantitative restrictions on exports and imports in order to ensure the national security of the country, fulfill international obligations or protect the domestic market, declaring this no later than three months before their establishment. There is also the possibility of using a state monopoly on trade certain types products. In this case, a special procedure is established for issuing licenses for export-import operations exclusively to state-owned enterprises.
The further development of foreign trade relations is closely connected with the prospect of Russia’s accession to the World Trade Organization (BTO). RF must join WTO until the end of 1998. This will allow it to annually receive debt payments in the amount of up to $500 million. The feasibility of joining is determined primarily by the need to ensure an acceptable balance of rights and obligations in the field of international trade for Russia, and the need to develop foreign economic relations on the basis accepted in the world. In particular, this will eliminate the current discriminatory measures on the part of Western countries in relation to Russian exports and provide it with most favored nation treatment, as well as national treatment for our goods and services abroad.
For foreign trade transactions important have business customs.
Business custom is an international custom, which, unlike legally binding international legal customs, regulates foreign economic turnover if the participants of the latter agree O such regulation. In other words, business customs apply to a foreign trade contract if the parties agreed on this when concluding the contract.
Business customs in the field of foreign economic relations are in a number of cases interpreted by international non-governmental organizations. An example is those developed by the International Chamber of Commerce International rules interpretation of trade terms - "INCOTERMS-90"(International Commercial TERMS 1990)
They cover a wide range of issues, including differences in terms of delivery when making a reservation CIF and free carriage clause. When concluding an agreement, the parties may extend these rules to their relations.
5. Features of international trade in services
Currently, in the world economy, along with the markets for goods, labor and capital, the services market is rapidly developing. The basis for the formation of the latter is the service sector, which occupies a significant place in the economies of the world. Thus, the share of services in the GDP of developed countries is now approximately 70%, and in developing countries - 55%.
International trade in services, unlike trade in goods, has a number of features:
1) the peculiarity of the service is that it is produced and consumed simultaneously and is not subject to storage;
2) trade in services on the world market is closely related to trade in goods and has an increasing impact on it. This is explained by the fact that for the effective export of goods it is necessary to attract a greater number of services, from market analysis to transportation and servicing of goods.
3) not all types of services, unlike goods, are suitable for involvement in international trade. This primarily applies to such types of services as utilities and household services.
4) international trade in services, to a greater extent than trade in goods, is protected by the state from foreign competition.
5) is regulated not at the border, but within the country by the relevant provisions of domestic legislation. The absence or presence of the fact that a service crosses the border cannot be a criterion for the export of a service (as well as the currency in which this service is paid).
By the mid-90s. trade in services exceeded 20% of total world trade. .
The regulation of international trade in services is significantly influenced by the specifics of their production (sale), supply (provision) and consumption (use). Services cannot be stored, and therefore their production in place and time, as a rule, coincides with consumption, and direct contact is required between the producer and the consumer of services. Therefore, regulation of trade in services can be achieved by limiting production or consumption in exporting and importing countries. The purchase and sale of many types of services on the world market is associated with the movement of their supplier or consumer across the border and, therefore, the traditional concept of most of these operations as “foreign trade” is transformed into the concept of “trade operations”. The consumption of certain types of services, such as banking or catering, is impossible without the presence of special infrastructure abroad, and trade in such sectors can be regulated by limiting foreign investment in relevant enterprises. All this has led to the fact that national regulation of trade in services has acquired diverse forms and has become significantly different from the regulation of trade in goods.
Main types of services on the world market
Franchising(from English, franchise - privilege, right) is a system for transferring or selling licenses for technology and a trademark.
The essence of franchising is that a company (franchisor), which has a high image in the market, transfers the right under certain conditions to a company (franchisee) unknown to consumers, i.e. a license (franchise) to operate using its technology and under its trademark and receives a certain compensation (income) for this.
Franchisor- this is the licensor of the franchise, which, as it were, represents the parent company (i.e., the material company) of the franchising system.
Under a franchise agreement, the right to operate is usually granted for a certain territory and for a certain time.
IN Russian Federation the operation of franchising is regulated by Ch. 54 “Commercial Concession” of the PS of the Russian Federation and the Law of the Russian Federation “On Trademarks, Service Marks and Appellations of Origin of Goods”. A commercial concession is franchising.
The basic principle of franchising is the combination of the franchisor's know-how with the franchisee's capital.
Franchising is a paired business. On one side there is a well-developed company, and on the other there is a citizen, a small entrepreneur, a small company. Both parties are bound by a franchise agreement.
A franchise is an agreement that expresses the terms of a business.
The advantages of franchising (for both parties) are expressed in the following opportunities: to increase the number of retail enterprises ( retail outlets, i.e. places of sale of goods or services) with minimal capital investment, since the franchisee can increase income (profit) due to the franchisee’s approaches; reduce the level of production and distribution costs per unit of turnover, since the franchisee, as an entrepreneur, covers all the costs of maintaining his trading enterprise; expand the distribution network of your goods or services by linking the franchisee to the franchisor (the franchisee, as a rule, is obliged to buy the equipment he needs from the franchisor or through his mediation, conduct his business under a recognized trademark, and use previously tested forms of entrepreneurship); joint advertising; training and assistance from the franchisor; acquisition of many types of licensing businesses at relatively low prices; finance part of the capital investment and make a profit from it, etc.
Engineering(from English, engineering - ingenuity, knowledge) is engineering and consulting services for the creation of enterprises and facilities. Engineering, on the one hand, is an important method of increasing the efficiency of capital invested in an object; on the other hand, it is considered as a certain form of export of services (transfer of knowledge, technology and experience) from the country of the manufacturer to the country of the customer. Engineering covers a range of works to conduct preliminary research, prepare a feasibility study, a set of design documents, as well as develop recommendations for organizing production and management, operating equipment and selling finished products.
The contract for the purchase of engineering services includes a number of specific obligations and conditions: a list of obligations and works with deadlines for their implementation; deadlines and work schedules; the number of engineering firm personnel involved in performing work on site and their living conditions; the degree of responsibility of the parties for violation of obligations; conditions for the assignment of part of contract services to another company on the principles of subcontracting; payment for staff training.
The goal of engineering is to get customers the best results from their investment.
Leasing(from English, lease - rent) is a form of long-term lease associated with the transfer of equipment for use, vehicles and other movable and immovable property, except for land plots and other natural objects.
Leasing is a form of logistics supply with simultaneous lending and rent. The subject (object) of leasing can be any non-consumable things used for business activities, except for land plots and other natural objects. There are always two sides to leasing:
- zingodatel - This is an economic entity or individual entrepreneur carrying out leasing activities, i.e. leasing under a contract of property specially acquired for this purpose;
-lessee - This is an economic entity or individual entrepreneur who receives property for use under a leasing agreement. Leasing has two types: financial and operational.
Financial leasing provides for the payment by the lessee during the term of the leasing agreement of amounts covering the full cost of depreciation of the property or most of it, as well as the profit of the lessor.
Upon expiration of the contract, the lessee can: return the leased asset to the lessor; conclude a new leasing agreement; repurchase the leased asset at its residual value.
Operating lease is for a period shorter than the depreciation period of the property. After the expiration of the leasing agreement, it is returned to the owner or leased out again.
The main volume of leasing operations is concentrated on three continents: North America, Asia and Europe, which by the beginning of 1997 accounted for 93.5% of the total leasing market. The leader is North America- 41.3% (in 1988 - 42.7%) with a volume of almost 177 billion dollars. The United States accounts for almost 40% of world leasing and more than 95% of all North American leasing.
International leasing operations affect the state of the country's balance of payments, since lease payments paid to foreign leasing companies increase the country's external debt, and their receipts into the country improve its balance of payments.
Licensing The global trade in licenses is inextricably linked with the technology market. Technology becomes a commodity only when a real basis for commercializing the idea has been created. The sale of a license is one of the main forms of commercial technology transfer.
License is a document certifying the right to use a patent under certain conditions.
Simple license gives the buyer (licensee) the right to use the licensed object within certain limits. It allows multiple sales to holders of the same license on the market.
Exclusive license involves the transfer to the licensee of the exclusive (monopoly) right to use the licensed object in a certain market.
Full license involves the transfer to the licensee of all rights to use the patent, that is, it actually means the sale of the patent.
However, there are other types of licenses. Often, when supplying complex equipment for construction, this transaction is accompanied by the sale of a license. This license is called accompanying as she comes in integral part into the general contract.
Another object of commercial transactions in the technology market is know-how.
Know-how Exchange in the form of knowledge, experience and scientific and technical information in its purest form is know-how, which is inextricably linked with the technology market. The main feature of know-how is its confidentiality. Know-how(from English, know how - I know how) is a complex of technical knowledge and trade secrets. A distinction is made between technical and commercial know-how.
Technical know-how includes:
Experimental unregistered samples of products, machines and apparatus, individual parts, tools, processing devices, etc.;
Technical documentation - formulas, calculations, plans, drawings, experimental results, list and content of research work carried out and their results; calculations in relation to a given production or technology; data on the quality of materials; training plans for staff;
Instructions containing information about the design, manufacture or use of the product; production experience, description of technologies; practical design guidelines; technical recipes, data on production planning and management;
Knowledge and skills in accounting, statistical and financial statements, legal and economic work;
Knowledge of customs and trade regulations, etc.
Information services
Nowadays, information is as important a factor of production as land, labor and capital.
On modern stage Information support, including the sphere of international and foreign economic forecasting, is characterized by following features: significant increase in demand for information in the 80s - early 90s. in the context of a slowdown in economic development, deterioration of the situation on world commodity markets and intensification of competition; > implementation is fundamental new technology based on the rapid development of electronic computing technology, which made it possible to create effective national and international information networks in developed countries; rapid expansion of software that forms the basis of new technology in information systems.
International information exchange plays an increasingly increasing role in global commodity and financial flows. Information services- these are the actions of subjects (owners and owners) to provide users with information products.
The means of international information exchange are information systems, networks and communication networks used in international information exchange.
IN recent years the network is actively used in the international market of information and advertising services Internet(Internet). It makes it possible to: organize advertising of products and goods at the international level; organize advertising of the company in order to attract partners; advertise projects to attract investors; organize a system for ordering goods sold; organize operational interaction with sales representatives using email and direct access to information resources of partners, etc.; order goods and cargo delivery; choose a supplier of transport forwarding services.
New types of foreign economic relations include international audit services. There are more than 50 global international accounting networks operating in the world (NAF). Members NAF There are also Russian auditing companies: “Audit-Azhur” (part of the Maoris Rowland International association); MKD (part of Pannell Kerr-Forsler); "Petro-Balt-Audit" (part of ASOG Pearson International), etc.
Russian audit firms included in NAF, The volume of services provided to clients has significantly expanded and their quality has improved.
Communication services . Communication services occupy a particularly important place in the information market. In both the international and domestic markets of many countries, the provision of these services has traditionally been less competitive in the sense that the fees charged to the user, especially in the case of telephone services, include, in addition to covering the costs of providing the services, significant differential economic rents.
The main component of communication services is telephone services, but in recent years new types of services have been developing very dynamically, such as cable television, “surcharge” services (including a variety of specialized services that can be accessed through the regular telephone network or through special transmission network), data transmission and radiotelephone communications. The convergence of technologies, as well as continued deregulation policies, are expected to increase competition, stimulate growth and significantly develop the telecommunications services market. In recent years, there has been an increase in the number of alliances concluded between firms that specialize in providing various components of these services in different countries, including in Russia, Ukraine, etc.
Travel services
International movements of people, or travel, represent a specific category of international trade, a type of service. This sector of international trade, namely the international travel sector, is experiencing rapid growth, fueled by increased discretionary income, falling real costs, increased responsiveness of communications and speed of transport.
In its external features, international tourism, being a specific service sector, resembles labor migration, since in both the first and second cases we are talking about the intercountry movement of people. But this similarity is only external, since in the case of labor migration we are talking about the movement of people from country to country for the purpose of employment, while the purpose of international tourism is the recreation and entertainment of people for a limited period of time. International tourism also differs from business travel, since in this case we are talking about the employee performing certain production and management (advisory) functions, although To Recently, a significant number of specialists have been combining official functions with vacations in other countries. Tourist services in international trade act as “invisible goods” (“invisible exports”), a characteristic feature of which is that it has become an important source of foreign exchange earnings for many developed and developing countries.
Transport services
Transport communications played a key role in the emergence of the world market, uniting regional and insurance segments of national economies into a global trade and economic system.
Maritime transport In the emerging unified transport system, the main place belongs to maritime transport. In terms of cargo turnover, as well as a number of other indicators, it ranks first and surpasses all other types of transport combined. It accounts for 80% of the total cargo turnover of world trade; accordingly, the situation in shipping has a significant impact on world transport in general and world trade.
Rail transport The railway lines of many countries, as a rule, are integrated into regional and continental railway systems, playing a huge role in transporting goods and people. The total length of railway tracks in 42 major countries of the world exceeds 915 thousand km, over which more than 3,700 million tons of cargo are transported annually, including 1,450 million tons of export-import and transit. Under the influence of competition from road transport, the volume of rail transport decreased in the 90s. Thus, in Germany, the USA, Canada, Great Britain and France it decreased from 1/4 to 1/3, in Italy, Hungary and Poland - by more than a third. These changes occur despite rapidly developing cooperation railways with other modes of transport within the framework of intermodal (combined) transport. The length of railway tracks in the United States in the 90s decreased from 322 thousand to 295 thousand km in 1997.
Road transport Road transport in many countries, especially the United States and Western European countries, plays a vital role in connecting national markets to global ones, carrying out large-scale transportation of goods and passengers. Global road transport markets are among the most dynamic. In the 90s, this area was characterized by an increase in the volume of transportation and vehicle fleet, a redistribution of cargo flows in favor of road transport(mainly due to railway), high-quality updating of vehicles under the influence of constantly increasing safety requirements (environmental, as well as traffic), protection of working conditions for drivers, etc.
Air transport New integration trends that have emerged in the world economy since the 90s, in particular what is commonly called globalization, have given impetus to the rapid development of global air transport. The total length of air routes in the world has doubled since 1980, and the number of passengers carried has increased by 1.6 times. The volume of work carried out by global air transport for cargo transportation, expressed in ton-kilometers, has more than doubled. By the mid-90s, the turnover in global air transport increased annually by 10-12%, decreasing slightly in the second half of the decade (8-9% in 1996-1999). At the same time, competition between well-known, long-established airlines and new ones fighting for the redistribution of the aviation market has intensified. This is typical not only for airlines in the most developed countries, but for many airlines from developing countries that have their own niches in the global aviation market.
6. Pricing in international trade
When analyzing the processes associated with pricing on world commodity markets, it is necessary to carefully study all the factors that influence the formation of prices, both general and purely applied. Prices determine which costs of producers will be reimbursed after the sale of goods, which ones will not, what the level of income, profits and where they will be, and whether resources will be directed in the future, whether incentives will arise for the further expansion of foreign economic activity (FEA).
In a market economy, pricing in foreign trade, as well as in the domestic market, is carried out under the influence of a specific market situation. In principle, the very concept of price is similar both for the characteristics of the internal market and for the characteristics of the external one. Price, including international trade, is the amount of money that the seller intends to receive, offering a product or service, and what the buyer is willing to pay for this product or service . The coincidence of these two requirements depends on many conditions, called “price-forming factors.” According to their nature, level and scope of action, they can be divided into the following five groups.
General economic , those. operating regardless of the type of product and the specific conditions of its production and sale. These include: the economic cycle; state of aggregate supply and demand; inflation.
Specifically economic , those. determined by the characteristics of the product, the conditions of its production and sale. These include: costs; profit; taxes and fees; supply and demand for this product or service, taking into account substitutability; consumer properties: quality, reliability, appearance, prestige.
Specific , those. valid only for certain types of goods and services: seasonality; operating costs; completeness; guarantees and conditions of service.
Special , those. associated with the action of special mechanisms and economic instruments: government regulation; exchange rate.
Non-economic , political; military.
World prices mean prices large export-import transactions concluded on world commodity markets in the main centers of world trade. The concept of “world commodity market” means a set of stable, repeating transactions for the purchase and sale of these goods and services, having organizational international forms (exchanges, auctions, etc.), or expressed in systematic export-import transactions of large supplying firms and buyers . And in world trade, the factors under the influence of which market prices are formed primarily naturally include the state of supply and demand.
In practice, the price of the offered product is influenced by: the effective demand of the buyer of this product, i.e. simply put, the availability of money; volume of demand - the amount of goods that the buyer is able to purchase; usefulness of the product and its consumer properties.
On the supply side, the constituent pricing factors are: the quantity of goods offered by the seller on the market; production and circulation costs when selling goods on the market; prices of resources or means of production used in the production of the relevant good.
A common factor is the substitutability of the product offered for sale with another that satisfies the buyer. The level of world prices is affected by the currency of payment, payment terms and some other, both economic and non-economic factors.
In the last two to three decades, an important role in the pricing of goods, especially in world trade, has been played by related services provided by the manufacturer and supplier of a product to the importer or end consumer. These are the generally accepted terms of delivery:
technical maintenance, warranty repairs, and other specific types of services related to the promotion, sale and use of goods. This aspect is especially important in modern conditions, during the period of development of high technologies and increasing complexity of machines and equipment. There are examples when the cost of services when exporting equipment and machinery amounted to a 60 percent share of the delivery price.
Information on prices on world commodity markets is usually divided into several groups.
Contract price - This is a specific price that the seller and buyer agreed upon during negotiations, which is usually lower than the supplier’s offer price. The contract price is valid for the entire period of the contract, unless it is subject to revision during the delivery. Contract prices are not published anywhere, because they represent a commercial secret. In principle, the contract prices for a certain product in a certain region and in the presence of a small circle of sellers and buyers are known. The practical task is to collect information and create a data bank.
Reference prices - These are seller prices published in specialized publications, newsletters, as well as in periodicals, newspapers, magazines, and computer information channels. The range of goods included in price guides mainly covers non-exchange raw materials and semi-finished products (oil and petroleum products, ferrous metals, fertilizers, etc.). Currently, reference literature on prices for non-exchange goods has become very widespread. Thus, an exporter of petroleum products is guided by daily commodity and regional price quotes - published in directories, which can be received daily through a computer communication system. However, it should be borne in mind that there is a certain gap between the prices published in reference publications and the actual transaction prices. As a rule, reference prices are somewhat inflated. Reference prices do not respond quickly to changes in market conditions or to any political events, with the possible exception of oil prices - a very specific product. At the same time, they reflect the dynamics of prices in a given market and trends.
Exchange prices - These are the prices of goods traded on commodity exchanges. Exchange goods include mainly raw materials and semi-finished products. Prices for exchange-traded goods promptly reflect all changes occurring in the market for a given product. The slightest changes in one direction or another in market conditions immediately affect stock quotes. This is explained by the fact that the stock exchange quotes themselves are the actual transaction prices in at the moment. It should be noted that stock exchange quotes do not reflect “in themselves” other instruments of international trade, such as terms of delivery, payment, etc. There are certain regulations for the operation of the exchange and participation in its work. Exchanges operate daily, and the quotation commission registers and publishes quoted prices in special bulletins. There are two types of quotes: urgent quotes (futures) for goods that are currently unavailable, with delivery conditions after a certain time, and quotes for goods that are being sold. As practice shows, stock quotes, while reacting quite sharply to various external “irritants,” still cannot reflect actual trends in price movements. Often, exchanges carry out operations that are openly speculative in nature.
Auction prices- show prices obtained as a result of trading. These are real prices that reflect supply and demand in a given time period. The auction type of trade is quite specific. At auctions, for example, furs and animals are bought and sold. art objects..
Statistical foreign trade prices - published in various national and international statistical reference books. These prices appearing in such publications are determined by dividing the value of exports or imports by the volume of products purchased or supplied. These prices do not indicate the specific price of a particular item. From their point of view practical application they are interesting for understanding the general dynamics of foreign trade of a particular country, for statistical calculations, and are used as an approximate guide. In the process of agreeing on prices, the exporter and importer, based on their own analysis of data on the situation on the market for the product, begin negotiations, knowing in advance what concessions they can make. In the world practice of foreign trade, a large number of different discounts are known. Price discounts are a method of negotiating prices taking into account market conditions and contract terms. According to experts, there are about 40 different types of price discounts and surcharges. The most common ones include the following:
· seller discount , when the exporter provides a discount during the bargaining process for the volume of a one-time purchase (batch) or for the sustainability of purchases, depending on the situation in a particular market. Can reach 20-30% of the original price;
· discount for exclusive importer , firm- importer is the only supplier of goods to a country or region, seeks the best conditions to sell this product, essentially helps the exporter gain a foothold in the market of that country. Reaches 10-15% of the original price. Practiced in market conditions of monopolistic competition;
· discount "sconto" , in case the importer makes an advance payment, full or partial, for the supplied goods. As a rule, such a discount is also provided in the case of direct bank transfer of money when issuing invoices;
· discount for traditional partner(or bonus), as a rule, is provided to an importer who has been working on the market with the same exporter for a long time. In this case, the exporter is confident in his partner buyer in terms of correct and timely fulfillment of contractual obligations; The discount is usually given for the annual sales volume of the product. Characteristic, first of all, of a perfectly competitive market;
· discounts for purchasing out-of-season goods , as a rule, it is provided in the markets of agricultural products, clothing, footwear, etc.
· dealer discount , Available to wholesalers, retailers, agents and intermediaries. This discount should cover dealers' sales and service costs and provide them with a certain profit margin.
Discount amounts are determined separately for each specific case. Typically, discounts vary between 2 and 10% of the original price offered. Of course, more significant discounts can be achieved.