Childrens Illustrated Encyclopedia

childrens_illustrated_encyclopedia_template_US_layer_v1

524

Imports

and exports

Goods that are

traded internationally

are called imports

and exports. Goods

that one country sells

to another are called

exports; imports are

goods that a country buys

from another. In most

nations, private businesses

control imports and

exports. But in others,

the government imposes

strict controls on what

can be bought and sold.

InternatIonal trade

Goods move around the world

by sea, land, and air. this

international trade takes

materials, such as oil, from the

countries that have a surplus

to those that have no or

insufficient oil deposits.

International trade is also

necessary because goods do

not always fetch a high price

in the country where they

are made. For example, many

clothes are made by hand in

countries where wages are low.

But the clothes are sold in

another country where people

are richer and can pay a high

price. money earned this way helps

less rich countries pay for their imports.

WIthout trade and Industry, people would have to create

everything they needed to live. If you wanted a loaf of bread you

would have to grow wheat, grind the wheat to make flour, mix the

dough, and bake it in an oven. you would also need to build the

mill and make the oven! Industry organizes the production of

bread, so that just a few farmers, millers, and bakers can make

bread for everyone. similarly, industry supplies us with most

other essential and luxury goods, from fresh water to cars. trade

is the process of buying and selling. trade gets the products from

the people who make them to the people who need them. and

through trade, manufacturers can buy the raw materials they

need to supply their factories and keep production going.

524- Trade and industry

of a nation are sometimes

called the economy.

Balance oF payments

each country pays for imports with the money it earns by selling goods

to other countries. this balance between imports and exports is called

the balance of trade, or the balance of payments. countries that do not

export enough must borrow money from abroad to pay for imports.

trade aGreements

some countries sign trade

agreements in order to

control trade between them.

the agreement may simply

fix the price at which the

two countries buy and sell

certain goods, such as tea

and wheat. the european

union (eu) has a

complicated network of

trade agreements that

allows free exchange of

goods between member

countries. the eu also

restricts trade with countries

that are not members of the

union. this helps encourage

industry within the union.

...every country must

export goods and sell

them abroad.

To pay for imports

(goods bought from

foreign countries) ...

Imports Exports

Imports

Exports

Trade and indusTry

sIlk road

trade between different regions and peoples

goes back to ancient times. the silk road was

one of the earliest and most famous trade

routes. traders led horses and camels along

this route between 300 bce and 1600 ce,

carrying silk from china to europe.

India exports tea

to the Russian

Federation.

India imports

cars from

Japan.

India exports

rice to Australia.

India imports

oil from the

Middle East.

India exports

cotton textiles

to Europe.

US_524_Trade_Industry_1.indd 524 27/01/16 2:39 pm