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Balanced trade is an alternative economic model to free trade. Under balanced trade, nations are required to provide a fairly even reciprocal trade pattern; they cannot run large trade deficits or trade surpluses.
The concept of balanced trade arises from an essay by Michael McKeever Sr. of the McKeever Institute of Economic Policy Analysis. According to the essay, "BT is a simple concept which says that a country should import only as much as it exports so that trade and money flows are balanced. A country can balance its trade either on a trading partner basis in which total money flows between two countries are equalized or it can balance the overall trade and money flows so that a trade deficit with one country is balanced by a trade surplus with another country." [1]
Balanced trade, as a concept, was suggested by Warren Buffett in a November 2003 Fortune Magazine article. [2] Therein he proposed a system of "Import Certificates" (ICs) – exporters would receive $1 of ICs for each $1 of goods they exported, and importers would be required to present $1 of ICs for every $1 of goods they import. This would limit the value of imports to at most the value of exports (and presumably exactly the value of imports, assuming no leakage), and create a market of exporters to sell ICs to importers, effectively subsidizing exporters and taxing importers – compare cap and trade. [3]
A year before Buffett's article, a form of balanced trade was hinted at by William Hawkins, who advocated direct limitations on imports: "the Bush Administration should be taking direct measures to reduce the trade deficit – which means limiting imports, both to defend the dollar's integrity and America's economic strength." [4]
A more extensive argument for balanced trade, and a program to achieve balanced trade is presented by Raymond Richman, Howard Richman and Jesse Richman. In their 2008 book Trading Away Our Future, they argue "A minimum standard for ensuring that trade does benefit all is that trade should be relatively in balance." [5] The Richmans published another book in 2014, Balanced Trade: Ending the Unbearable Costs of America's Trade Deficits, in which they propose a "scaled tariff…be applied to all imported goods from trade surplus countries that have had a sizable trade surplus with the United States over the most recent four economic quarters. The tariff rate would be designed to take in a portion (e.g. 50%) of the bilateral trade deficit (goods plus services) as revenue." [6]
Another advocate of balanced trade is Kenneth Davis Jr, former Assistant Secretary of Commerce and former Vice President and Chief Financial Officer for IBM Inc. In 2014 Davis and Will Wilkin formed Balanced Trade Associates to advocate for a balanced trade policy in the United States. They drafted model legislation, the Balanced Trade Restoration Act of 2014, that would use an electronic form of Import certificates to taper down imports 10% each year for 3 years, then, beginning in the 4th year, limit imports each year to the same value as the previous year's exports. [7]
The goal of balanced trade is also advanced by Mike Stumo, CEO of the Coalition for a Prosperous America (CPA). CPA has initiated a petition requesting that "Congress adopt balanced trade as the primary national trade goal by adding the following language to future trade-related bills: 'The principal national objective for trade in goods, services and agriculture is to achieve an overall balance of payments over a reasonable period of time, eliminate persistent trade deficits and reverse the accumulation of foreign debt.'" [8]
Balance of trade can be measured in terms of commercial balance, or net exports. Balance of trade is the difference between the monetary value of a nation's exports and imports over a certain time period. Sometimes a distinction is made between a balance of trade for goods versus one for services. The balance of trade measures a flow variable of exports and imports over a given period of time. The notion of the balance of trade does not mean that exports and imports are "in balance" with each other.
Free trade is a trade policy that does not restrict imports or exports. In government, free trade is predominantly advocated by political parties that hold economically liberal positions, while economic nationalist and left-wing political parties generally support protectionism, the opposite of free trade.
The global financial system is the worldwide framework of legal agreements, institutions, and both formal and informal economic action that together facilitate international flows of financial capital for purposes of investment and trade financing. Since emerging in the late 19th century during the first modern wave of economic globalization, its evolution is marked by the establishment of central banks, multilateral treaties, and intergovernmental organizations aimed at improving the transparency, regulation, and effectiveness of international markets. In the late 1800s, world migration and communication technology facilitated unprecedented growth in international trade and investment. At the onset of World War I, trade contracted as foreign exchange markets became paralyzed by money market illiquidity. Countries sought to defend against external shocks with protectionist policies and trade virtually halted by 1933, worsening the effects of the global Great Depression until a series of reciprocal trade agreements slowly reduced tariffs worldwide. Efforts to revamp the international monetary system after World War II improved exchange rate stability, fostering record growth in global finance.
The government budget balance, also referred to as the general government balance, public budget balance, or public fiscal balance, is the difference between government revenues and spending. For a government that uses accrual accounting the budget balance is calculated using only spending on current operations, with expenditure on new capital assets excluded. A positive balance is called a government budget surplus, and a negative balance is a government budget deficit. A government budget presents the government's proposed revenues and spending for a financial year.
In international economics, the balance of payments of a country is the difference between all money flowing into the country in a particular period of time and the outflow of money to the rest of the world. These financial transactions are made by individuals, firms and government bodies to compare receipts and payments arising out of trade of goods and services.
In macroeconomics and international finance, a country's current account records the value of exports and imports of both goods and services and international transfers of capital. It is one of the two components of the balance of payments, the other being the capital account. Current account measures the nation's earnings and spendings abroad and it consists of the balance of trade, net primary income or factor income and net unilateral transfers, that have taken place over a given period of time. The current account balance is one of two major measures of a country's foreign trade. A current account surplus indicates that the value of a country's net foreign assets grew over the period in question, and a current account deficit indicates that it shrank. Both government and private payments are included in the calculation. It is called the current account because goods and services are generally consumed in the current period.
Non-tariff barriers to trade are trade barriers that restrict imports or exports of goods or services through mechanisms other than the simple imposition of tariffs. Such barriers are subject to controversy and debate, as they may comply with international rules on trade yet serve protectionist purposes.
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 country by exporting goods for which the nation has a comparative advantage. Export-led growth implies opening domestic markets to foreign competition in exchange for market access in other countries.
The Marshall–Lerner condition is satisfied if the absolute sum of a country's export and import demand elasticities is greater than one. If it is satisfied, then if a country begins with a zero trade deficit then when the country's currency depreciates, its balance of trade will improve. The country's imports become more expensive and exports become cheaper due to the change in relative prices, and the Marshall-Lerner condition implies that the indirect effect on the quantity of trade will exceed the direct effect of the country having to pay a higher price for its imports and receive a lower price for its exports.
Foreign trade of Argentina includes economic activities both within and outside Argentina especially with regards to merchandise exports and imports, as well as trade in services.
A J curve is any of a variety of J-shaped diagrams where a curve initially falls, then steeply rises above the starting point.
In its economic relations, Japan is both a major trading nation and one of the largest international investors in the world. In many respects, international trade is the lifeblood of Japan's economy. Imports and exports totaling the equivalent of nearly US$1.309.2 Trillion in 2017, which meant that Japan was the world's fourth largest trading nation after China, the United States and Germany. Trade was once the primary form of Japan's international economic relationships, but in the 1980s its rapidly rising foreign investments added a new and increasingly important dimension, broadening the horizons of Japanese businesses and giving Japan new world prominence.
Revaluation is a change in a price of a good or product, or especially of a currency, in which case it is specifically an official rise of the value of the currency in relation to a foreign currency in a fixed exchange rate system. In contrast, a devaluation is an official reduction in the value of the currency. Under floating exchange rates, a rise in a currency's value is an appreciation. Altering the face value of a currency without changing its purchasing power is a redenomination, not a revaluation.
Import certificates are a proposed mechanism to implement balanced trade, and eliminate a country's trade deficit. The idea was proposed by Warren Buffett in 2003 to address the U.S. trade deficit. In the United States, the idea was first introduced legislatively in the Balanced Trade Restoration Act of 2006. The proposed legislation was sponsored by Senators Byron Dorgan (ND) and Russell Feingold (WI), two Democrats in the United States senate. Since then there has been no action on the bill.
Foreign trade of the United States comprises the international imports and exports of the United States. The country is among the top three global importers and exporters.
Pakistan has bilateral and multilateral trade agreements with many nations and international organizations. It is a member of the World Trade Organization, part of the South Asian Free Trade Area agreement and the China–Pakistan Free Trade Agreement. Fluctuating world demand for its exports, domestic political uncertainty, and the impact of occasional droughts on its agricultural production have all contributed to variability in Pakistan's trade deficit. The trade deficit for the fiscal year 2013/14 is $7.743 billion, exports are $10.367 billion in July–November 2013 and imports are $18.110 billion.
Foreign trade in India includes all imports and exports to and from India. At the level of Central Government it is administered by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry. Foreign trade accounted for 48.8% of India's GDP in 2018.
Argentina has strong cultural and historical links to the European Union (EU) and the EU is Argentina's biggest investor.
A destination-based cash flow tax (DBCFT) is a form of border adjustment tax (BAT) that was proposed in the United States by the Republican Party in their 2016 policy paper "A Better Way — Our Vision for a Confident America", which promoted a move to the tax. It has been described by some sources as simply a form of import tariff, while others have argued that it has different consequences than those of a simple tariff.
Sudan's exports in 2008 amounted to US$12.4 billion, and its imports totaled US$8.9 billion. Agricultural products dominated Sudanese exports until Sudan began to export petroleum and petroleum products. By 2000 the value of petroleum-based products surpassed the total of all other exports combined. By 2008, they had reached US$11.6 billion and have accounted for 80 to 94 percent of all export revenue since 2000, the result of expanded oil production, as well as higher oil prices. Because oil provides such a large proportion of export earnings, Sudan is now vulnerable to the volatility of the international price of oil.