...C H A P T E R 19 International Trade Finance Financial statements are like fine perfume: to be sniffed but not swallowed. —Abraham Brilloff. LEARNING OBJECTIVES ◆ Learn how international trade alters both the supply chain and general value chain of the domestic firm, thereby beginning the globalization process in the trade phase. ◆ Consider what the key elements of an import or export transaction are in business. ◆ Discover how the three key documents in import/export, the letter of credit, the draft, and the bill of lading, combine to both finance the transaction and to manage its risks. ◆ Identify what the documentation sequence is for a typical international trade transaction. ◆ Learn how the various stages and their costs impact the ability of an exporter to enter a foreign market and potentially compete in both credit terms and pricing. ◆ See what organizations and resources are available for exporters to aid in managing trade risk and financing. ◆ Examine the various trade financing alternatives. The purpose of this chapter is to explain how international trade, exports and imports, is financed. The contents are of direct practical relevance to both domestic firms that just import and export and to multinational firms that trade with related and unrelated entities. The chapter begins by explaining the types of trade relationships that exist. Next, we explain the trade dilemma: exporters want to be paid before they export and importers do not want to pay until...
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...International Trade and Finance ECO/372 July 30, 2012 Alexander Heil International Trade and Finance When the US has a surplus of imports it affects the companies in the US that make the same product. A study sponsored by the solar power industry has concluded that the United States ran a trade surplus of $1.88 billion in solar technologies in 2010, as exports of raw material and factory equipment for the solar sector outpaced imports of finished solar panels. China has a rapid rise in solar panel manufactures, which now represent 58 percent of the world’s solar panel manufacturing. While American solar panel producers are struggling and filing for bankruptcy (Bradsher, K. (2011). The following examples will show a sequence of events to describe the impact of trade on the GDP; US demand for imports increase, this increases US demand for pesos, with increased US demand for pesos they increase the value of the peso. Americans purchasing more imports will cause the GDP and employment to decrease. The change in the exchange rate will correct the situation. When the US exports to Mexico it will reverse the affects and US demand will increase (Infoplease.com (2012). Tariffs are taxes of imported goods; this increases the cost of the good in the domestic market. Domestic producers benefit from tariffs because they receive higher prices for their goods and the government benefits by collecting tax revenues. Less of the good is produced, and consumers pay higher...
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...International Trade and Finance Speech Name ECO/372 Date Professor International Trade and Finance The current state of the U.S. economy is improving according to recent numbers that reflect a decrease in unemployment, coupled with an increase in both interest rates and GDP. All three factors are primary indicators in determining the wellbeing of an economy. The economy probably will never reach the numbers that we are accustom (pre 2008) in which real income is always on the rise, employment is below 5% and real GDP increases 4% each quarter. Unfortunately, we as Americans might have to get use to a new normal. The new normal is more of a reflection on our economic dependence on the global economy. The U.S economy is like any other major power whereas our growth will be somewhat dependent on the ability for other countries to afford our exports. While the U.S. is currently experiencing a growth in our economy, the same cannot be said for most of the world. In particular, the countries that we export a high number of goods and services are experiencing a slower recovery. Countries like Europe, who is our largest exporter, don’t have the revenue to match are current spending power. This will result in a budget deficit with a surplus in imports and a reduction in exports. When you have a higher budget with less revenue coming in then the amount going out, there will be a debt. This is bad for business because it will lead to higher unemployment. The automobile industry...
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...International Trade and Finance In some ways the United States and Japanese are the biggest competitors in the international trade because both countries are producing many of the same goods. For example, Toshiba’s biggest competitor in the personal computer niche is Dell. Countries use international trade in order to get higher GDP results. A country will best utilize their expertise in a certain good in order to trade for other goods that they may not be able to produce as well. In this essay, the advantages of international trade will be closely examined, including the risks of exchange rates and barriers in trade. Comparative Advantage In the international trade the role of comparative advantage is enormous and it can be referred as the capability of a country or company to manufacture a particular good or service at a lower opportunity cost than the other competitive country or company. Exchange Rate Risk The exchange rate is best described as what one country currency will be worth when converted to another countries currency. The threats of exchange rates mostly effect organizations that are actively engaged in international export and import. Price of commodity influences the strength of currency in a given market. Refer to the chart below to better understand. When a country’s commodity experiences a lower than expected market demand, the demand for that countries currency will also go down. Internal forces may be a cause for the country’s decrease...
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...International Trade and Finance The United States imports many goods and services, as well as exports goods and services in the global economy. International trade affects the United States’ Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and domestic markets. The government can affect international trade by imposing tariffs and quotas on imports. Foreign exchange rates affect how much is brought and sold abroad. International trade is beneficial to the United States, but can sometimes be seen as unfair competition to the American workforce and businesses. Trade Surpluses and Deficits A country has a trade surplus when exports exceed imports. This situation will initially create wealth for the country, but in the long-run the country’s currency appreciates causing the cost of its goods to other countries (exports) to become more expensive; which evens out the trade imbalance. After World War II the United States was in this situation, becoming an international lender to foreign countries (Colander, p. 449). This created wealth for the U.S. because of the flow of interest payments, instead of having to pay income on its own debt. A trade deficit is when a country imports more than it exports. The United States is currently experiencing this type of trade imbalance. The U.S. is consuming more than it is producing, and they are financing this consumption by selling off assets such as stocks, bonds, real estate, and corporations (Colander, p. 448, 449). Effects of Excess Imports When the...
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...International Trade and Finance ECO372 Good evening ladies and gentlemen: Today I will be speaking to you about international trade and foreign exchange rates. Throughout history, there have been many market structures and systems, as well as trade amongst international countries and colonies. As all of you already know, imports can be brought in from pretty much any country. During the process, the government will usually set a price ceiling and price floor for producers to protect them as a whole. For example, if there are farmers importing tomatoes from multiple countries into the United States, there will be a surplus. There is a surplus when the supply of the imported goods is greater than the demand. As a result, a countries export and import levels should be controlled by government policies. If there were no trade regulations applied to imports, the surplus may turn into a deficit, negatively affecting farmers who will lose money because of the decrease on the Gross Domestic Product. The Gross Domestic Product or GDP is the total amount of goods and prices a country produces in a one year span. International trade influences the GDP by expanding our markets with the imports of goods and services that are not readily available to us here. Some of these goods and services include coffee, bananas, oil, and automobiles from Germany and Japan. The imports of these goods increase our economy GDP, but also allow us to export our own products and...
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...International Trade and Finance Speech | Principles of Macroeconomics | Instructor: MICHAEL THIRTLE | Cindy Williams | 10/29/2012 | International Trade and Finance In this world of ours there is so much competition. This is especially true between the United States and Japan, which make the same if not similar products of goods and services. The example for today is Toshiba and Dell computers. After the theories of integrative levels and of complex systems of the world trade organization the volume of trade was increased and high active participation allows them to specialize in what they all do best and enjoy the variety of the good and services. The economic system is really a big, free-flowing system which provides a market as well as it is the very life-line of our modern society. Human beings have traded and bartered with one another ever since earlier cultures; they knew at that time what a few still grapple with these days that trade is really a requirement. For that reason since trade was essential to the growth of earlier cultures, global trade is vital to contemporary cultures. By comparative advantage and opportunity costs evaluation a country may find out the items to export and import. The Exchange Rate The definition of Exchange Rate begins by saying that the price of one country’s money in definition of one country’s currency. This usually threatens and affects the export and/or import of many companies. This can also affect the stocks and stockholders...
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...International Trade and Finance Speech International Trade and Finance Speech Ladies and gentleman, today I will address the state of the U.S. macro economy. The main focus of today’s speech is international trade and foreign exchange rates. Today’s topics include what happens during a surplus of imports, the effects of international trade, government choices in regards to tariffs, how foreign exchange rates are determined, and why the U.S. does not simply restrict all goods coming from China. Surplus of Imports There are different opinions about what happens when there is a trade surplus. Some believe that deficits have little to no impact on economic growth (CATO Institute, 2007). According to the CATO Institute when imports grew by up to 0.5 percent economic growth also grew by an average of 2.1 percent. The most popular belief is a surplus of imports drives down pricing, which is great for consumers but hurts domestic companies. Domestic companies have to cut pricing in order to compete with the prices of foreign companies. Many manufacturing jobs have been eliminated due to the surplus of imports into the U.S. One example is the U.S. auto parts industry. Chinese auto-parts imports to the U.S. increased more than 900 percent from 2000 to 2010 (EPI, 2012). Financially speaking auto parts deficit increased from 9.5 billion in 2000 to 31.2 billion in 2010. This also created a loss of jobs totaling 419,600 in the 10 year span. Effects of International Trade...
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...INTERNATIONAL TRADE & FINANCE SPEECH 1 International Trade & Finance Speech Jose L. Sandoval Jr. ECO/372 September 30, 2013 Howard Blitz INTERNATIONAL TRADE & FINANCE SPEECH 2 International Trade & Finance Speech Good evening Ladies and gentlemen of the press; this evening I will define what economics is and when there is a surplus of imports brought into the U.S, The effects of international trade to Gross Domestic Product (GDP), domestic markets and university students, Government choices in regards to tariffs and quotas affect international relations and trade, What are foreign exchange rates, How are they determined, Why doesn’t the U.S. simply restrict all goods coming in from China, and final Why can’t the U.S. just minimize the amount of imports coming in from all other countries. The economics is the study of how people choose to use resources. Resources are considered as time and talent people have available, the land, buildings, equipment, and other tools on hand, and the knowledge of how to gather them to create useful products and services. The choices that are more important are how much time to devote to work, to school, and time to relax or spend with family. Also what are important are how many money to spend and how much to save, how to put together resources to produce goods and services, and how to vote and shape the level of taxes and the role of government. When a surplus of imports brought into the United State the surplus and deficit in the...
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...International Trade and Finance Speech ECO/372 September 23, 2013 International Trade and Finance Speech According to (Colander, 2010, p. 505) a surplus means when a country “produces more than what it consumes.” “Countries that enjoy a trade surplus have more money flowing in than out. This includes both money for the products the country exports and the money spent by foreign visitors” (Wisegeek, 2013, p. 1). The effect of trade surplus in a nation indicates it has more control over its own currency. In some ways the United States and Japan are major competitors in the market of international trade (Encyclopedia of Nations, 2013). Each, country produces many of the same goods, for example Toshiba’s major competitor in personal computers is Dell (Dell computer corporation, 1997). Toshiba is a product Japan imports to the United States. A surplus would be created, depending on the current interest and exchange rate in the United States. After the emergence of the World Trade Organization, and according to their site (WTO, 2013) is designed to “deal with the global rules of trade between nations. Its main function is to ensure that trade flows smoothly, predictably, and as freely as possible.” From inception the volume of international trade has increased and participating countries actively trade to push their product. The intent of this speech will be to explain what happens during a surplus of imports into the United States, the effects of international trade to gross...
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...International Trade and finance speech International Trade and finance speech It is a general inaccuracy with the meaning of importing goods to America is the expenditure of American jobs. In reality, imports provide many job creations on a huge scale; the increased economic action associated by means of every step of the import advancement millions of jobs in the U.S are helped increase. The Heritage Foundation states that with the intention of this over half of American jobs are maintained by imports like clothing as well toys and other goods from China. These jobs are held in fields like transportation, retail, wholesale, construction, and finance. Appreciative the encouraging is role of imports with revere to jobs, in addition to their supplementary benefits, is critical to adopting the approved trade course of action and as a result to strengthen the economy. According to the Census Bureau, the United States imported just about $382 billion of merchandise from China in 2010, approximately 20% of the entire American imports that year. A number of people quarrels that massive quantities like this imply that the U.S.is losing a lot of employment to China. Variations of this disagreement are found and all are seriously blemished. First they depend on false information; next they get the wrong idea of the fundamental impact of selection and opposition, and finally confuse the impacts of modern trade with a solitary nation (more often than not China) by means of the multi-generation...
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...International Trade and Finance Speech Thank you for attending this conference today. My name is _____, and as a Speaker of the House, I will discuss the current state of the United States macroeconomy. I will further explain topics including the current surplus, effects of international trade in the U.S., tariffs and quotas, foreign exchange rates, and why the U.S. imports. United States Imports Surplus International trade and finance are an important part of the United States’ economy, accounting for a large part of the Gross Domestic Product. In the last three decades, the U.S. has incurred a trade deficit from importing more products than it exports (Colander, 2010). The largest sector of imports is industrial supply products representing 32% of total imports Trading Economics, 2014). This includes products such as, crude oil, steel, natural rubber, and other various raw and man-made materials required for industrial and commercial industries (United States Census Bureau, n.d.). The surplus of imports affects U.S. businesses and consumers differently. Domestic companies can be negatively affected if it is unable to remain competitive with their international counterparts. As I mentioned previously, the U.S. imports a large number of raw materials used for industrial supplies. Domestic companies have lost profits and released employees due to lack of demand for their goods or services. This also negatively affects American workers who lose their employment and...
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...International Trade and Finance Keith De Luca ECO/372 March 25, 2013 Dr. Godwin Quashigah International Trade and Finance Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen, my name is Keith De Luca, Speaker of the House, United States Senate. The U.S. economy has been hit hard since the attacks on the World Trade Center’s 12 years ago. It’s been one of the worse financial states of our economy since the Great Depression, but as of 2009 we have been on the up side and looking at a growing economy. When there is a surplus of imports brought into the United States, there comes advantages and disadvantages to our economy. “The increased economic activity associated with every stage of the import process helps support millions of jobs in the U.S” (Scissors, Espinoza, & Miller, 2012). This happens by supplying jobs in all aspects of the business market from transportation, construction, retail and it keeps our ports running strong. Providing jobs throughout the United States is a great advantage of having imports coming to our country. On the negative side, the higher number of imports that we have shows a down side in our own manufacturing sector. The cost of materials and manufacturing overseas impacts what we can produce here. “Auto sales since the depths of the recession have increased more than twice as fast as employment in auto parts in part because of the rapid growth in auto parts imported from China—the fastest-growing source of U.S. auto-parts imports” (Scott, 2012)...
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...International Trade and Finance Speech ECO 372 DO NOT Plagiarize this is simple for guidence International Trade and Finance Speech In the United States international trade is an important aspect when it comes to our nation’s economy. Over the years the nation’s economic responsibility has changed from being creditors to debtors. With this change it has affected the layout of our global economy and with the advancement of our technology it has enhanced the amount of trade done between countries all over the world. With the abundance of goods imported into the United States it has provided us with a surplus. Surplus is typically used to aid in slowing down the economy and balancing out the deficits. When surplus of imports are brought into the United States a deficit is created due the balancing of the trade. According to "United States International Trade Commission" (n.d.), there are three foreign imports that entered into the United States over the years and they are electronic products, transportation equipment and energy-related products. From 2011 to 2013 these three imports from foreign countries have steadily increased. Out of the three imports two of them have been beneficial when there was a change in the economy. During a time period, we had issues within the housing market and agencies were losing money because consumers were unable to afford their mortgages. When it comes to the Gross Domestic Products (GDP) the international...
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...International Trade and Finance Speech ECO/372 July 15, 2013 The current state of the U.S. macro economy is made up of a plethora of highly involved processes. I am going to attempt to explain some simple terms and concepts focused on international trade and foreign exchange rates. Foreign Exchange Rates One needs to have a base level understanding of what defines an exchange rate. According to Investopedia, a foreign exchange rate is “The price of one country's currency expressed in another country's currency. In other words, the rate at which one currency can be exchanged for another.”(Investopedia, 2012) The process by which foreign exchange rates are determined is really not any different than any other market function. The supply and demand for different goods determine what their prices are. In this case, substitute currencies for goods. Let us take the case of one foreign currency to understand how this market works. The dollar-rupee exchange rates will depend on how the demand-supply balance moves. When the demand for dollars in India rises and supply does not rise correspondingly, each dollar will cost more rupees to buy. A foreign exchange rate understanding will help one to comprehend how trade between the US and foreign countries affects the GDP. International Trade and GDP First of all, Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is the representation of the total dollar value of...
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