International trade

Ancient silk road trade routes across Eurasia.

International trade is trade between different countries, also known as importing and exporting goods. Businesses in one country will then buy (import) or sell (export) goods to the businesses in other countries. Alternatively, the government of a country will sometimes directly buy from (or sell to) the government of another country.

Governments have sometimes forbidden or more often restricted international trade. When import of goods affects the prices of those same goods in the receiving country, that country's government may pass special laws to regulate the trading. They may then try to use protectionist methods such as high tariffs to discourage import. As a form of punishment or political pressure, some countries may impose economic sanctions, or embargoes that prevent trading altogether with a target country.

To promote relations, countries may agree to trade with each other without protectionism. This is called "free trade". Free trade reduces trade barriers in exporting items. Free trade is generally supported by fiscal conservatives; trade-protectionism is generally supported by economic nationalist and leftist parties.

Reelated pages

• Multilingualism

International Trade Media

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  The ancient Silk Road trade routes across Eurasia

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  Ports play an important role in facilitating international trade. The Port of New York and New Jersey grew from the original harbor at the convergence of the Hudson River and the East River at the Upper New York Bay.

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  Most traded export products

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  Volume of world merchandise exports

• A video explaining findings of the study "Water, energy and land insecurity in global supply chains"