SERVICES IN THE MODERN WORLD ECONOMY. CLASSIFICATION OF SERVICES

INTERNATIONAL TRADE IN SERVICES IN THE GENERAL SYSTEM OF INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC RELATIONS

INTERNATIONAL TRADE IN SERVICES

CHAPTER 13

Services are a set of diverse activities and commercial activities related to satisfying a wide range of people's needs. The reference book “Liberalization of international transactions in services” developed by UNTCAD and the World Bank gives following definition services: services are a change in the position of an institutional unit that occurs as a result of actions and on the basis of mutual agreement with another institutional unit.

It is easy to see that this is an extremely broad definition, covering a diverse range of operations. Therefore, we can distinguish between the concept of services in the broad and narrow sense of the word. In a broad sense, services are a set of various activities and commercial activities of a person through which he communicates with other people. In a narrow sense, services mean specific promotions and activities that one party (partner) can offer to the other party.

Although services are traditionally considered as the so-called “tertiary sector” of the economy, they currently account for 2/3 of global GDP. They absolutely predominate in the economies of the United States and other industrialized countries (within 70-80% of GDP), as well as in most developing countries and countries with economies in transition. The share of services in the Russian Federation's GDP in 2005 was 55.5%.

Services have a number of significant differences from goods in their material terms:

1) they are usually intangible. This intangibility and “invisibility” of most types of services is often the basis for calling foreign trade in them invisible exports and imports;

2) services are inseparable from their source;

3) their production and consumption are, as a rule, inseparable;

4) they are characterized by inconsistency of quality, variability and unstorability.

The number of services and their role in the economy and international trade is growing rapidly, primarily as a result of scientific and technical progress, the growth of international economic ties in general, increasing the income and solvency of the population in many countries of the world. Since services are heterogeneous, there are several classifications.

The classification of services, based on the UN International Standardized Industrial Classification, includes:

1) utilities and construction;

2) wholesale and retail trade, restaurants and hotels;

3) transportation, storage and communications, as well as financial intermediation;

4) defense and mandatory social services;

5) education, health and public works;

6) other communal, social and personal services.
Most services under this classification are produced and consumed domestically and cannot be traded internationally.

The IMF classification used in compiling the balance of payments includes the following types services related to payments between residents and non-residents: 1) transport; 2) trips; 3) communication; 4) construction; 5) insurance; 6) financial services; 7) computer and information services; 8) royalties and license payments; 9) other business services; 10) personal, cultural and recreational services; 11) government services.

From the point of view of the movement of factors of production, services are divided into factor services, which arise in connection with the international (intercountry) movement of factors of production, primarily capital and labor force, and non-factor services - other types of services (transport, travel and other non-financial services).

To date, approaches related to the division of services in international trade into tradable and non-tradable have changed. The signing of the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) was the result of not only the coordination of the positions of various countries on issues international trade services, but also the emergence of new theoretical and practical approaches to understanding the nature of international trade in services. Previously, theorists and practitioners divided services into tradable and non-tradable in international trade on the principle of the so-called cross-border exchange of services, i.e. such an exchange in which the producer and consumer of the service were in agreement different sides customs border, and the exchanged service crossed this border (by analogy with trade in “ordinary” goods). Examples of this type of cross-border exchange of services are postal or telecommunications services. Those services that were provided without such cross-border exchange were considered non-tradable. However, during the preparation of the GATS agreement, it was formulated new approach to the international exchange of services, according to which this exchange can be carried out in the following main ways:

1. A service moves across the customs border in the same way as “ordinary” goods, when the producer and consumer are on opposite sides of the customs border.

2. The foreign producer of the service himself moves to the territory of the country where its consumer is located.

3. A foreign consumer of a service moves to the territory of the country where the service is produced.

4. Individuals who are residents of one state, producing and/or consuming services in another state, move across the customs border (i.e., there is a combination of the second and third methods of international trade in services).

As a result of such new theoretical approaches Most types of produced services have moved into the category of tradable (in international trade) services. Due to this new meaning acquired some concepts related to the export and import of services. So, for example, export of goods on a chartered foreign ship means “export of goods on transport import services”. A Russian travel company that sends Russian tourists abroad imports tourism services, and a company that receives foreign tourists exports tourism services. A Russian professor who teaches at a foreign university and transfers part of his income to Russia is an exporter of intellectual and educational services.

During international negotiations within the GATT/WTO, more than 160 types of services are taken into account, divided into 12 sectors:

1) business services (46 industry types of services);

2) communication services (25 types);

3) construction and engineering services (5 types);

4) distribution services (5 types);

5) general educational services (5 types);

6) protection services environment(4 types);

7) financial services, including insurance (17 types);

8) health care and social services (4 types);

9) tourism and travel (4 types);

10) services in the field of organizing leisure, culture and sports (5 types);

11)transport services (33 types);

12) other services.

The GATS within the WTO classifies international trade in services according to how they are provided. The following are highlighted: 1) cross-border trade in services; 2) movement of the consumer to the country where the service is consumed (consumption abroad); 3) establishing a commercial presence in the country where the service is to be provided; 4) temporary movement of individuals to another country to provide services. The largest volume of services (about 80% in total) falls on the first and third methods.

International financial statistics of the IMF are published for three groups of services: 1) transport services, 2) tourism and 3) other private services.

Many types of services can be traded internationally. Trade in services represents non-commodity commercial transactions. Unlike trade in goods, exporting or importing services does not necessarily mean crossing the customs border. The service can be provided to a non-resident within the customs territory of a given country, in which case the transaction will be considered international. Like payments for the export and import of goods, international trade in services is reflected in the balance of payments. As stated in the 1999 Business Guide to the GATS, a service becomes a subject of international trade if the producer of the service and its buyer are resident individuals or legal entities different countries regardless of the location of the transaction between them.

International exports of services are growing faster than international exports of goods. Exports of services amounted to $402 billion in 1980, and in 2006 it amounted (according to WTO data) to $2,710 billion, i.e. increased more than 6 times. The share of exports of services in total international trade in goods and services is 18-20%. This figure is generally growing, and by 2015, according to IMEMO RAS estimates, it could reach up to 30% of total international trade.

According to WTO data, Russian exports commercial services in 2006 amounted to $30 billion (1.1% of world exports of commercial services, 25th place). For comparison: in 2002, Russia's share was 0.8% of world exports of services, 29th among the leading countries exporting services. Russia's imports of commercial services, according to WTO data, in 2006 amounted to $45 billion, 1.7% of world imports of services, which meant 16th place among the leading countries importing commercial services. For comparison: in 2002, similar figures were $21.5 billion, 1.4% of world imports of commercial services and 20th place among the leading countries importing commercial services. Thus, Russia is becoming more actively involved in the global services market, although its share in it remains insignificant.

The reasons behind the dynamic growth of international trade in services include:

STP and associated cardinal changes in the international division of labor (at the same time, not only the scale of production of services is growing, but also their diversity);

The growth of the general openness of national economies, as a result of which an increasing part of services becomes the object of international trade;

Changing the consumption structure of the population of the modern world, which is increasingly focused on the consumption of services;

Transition of leading countries modern world, and after them other countries to the modern “new information society”, which is based on the growth in consumption of services, especially information ones;

The growing interconnectedness of international trade in various types of services (many of which are sold together - “in one package”).

In general, international trade in services in its absolute scale still lags behind international trade in goods. The reasons for this include the following:

1. The bulk of services (especially services provided by government organizations) are sold within countries (this is clearly seen when comparing data on the share of services in the GDP of individual countries and data on the share of services in international trade).

2. Trade in services, as it develops, requires increasingly higher technical equipment. However, this level (especially in the field of telecommunications, information, transport, and tourism services) was reached relatively recently.

3. Much greater progress has been made in liberalizing international trade in goods in recent years than in international trade in services. The changes that were achieved by the GATT and then the WTO related primarily to trade in goods (most favored nation treatment, favorable conditions for access to domestic markets, national treatment). Services (except for settlement of international level some transport and tourism problems) remained for a long time in the competence of national governments and were not the object of multilateral regulation of international trade.

However, one of the most important characteristics modern world trade is a very dynamic growth of exports and imports of services. Many experts believe that officially published data on the volume of international trade in services underestimate the actual value of services sold in international trade. Reasons for this actual underestimation include:

Underestimation of tourists' spending abroad;

Services are often presented in conjunction with goods sold abroad (and the cost of services is often fixed as part of the cost of the goods), in general similar situation It can be quite difficult to separate the actual cost of goods and the cost of services;

Services constitute a fairly significant part of intra-company exchange within TNCs, and given that the sale of both goods and services in them is carried out at so-called transfer prices (which are often deliberately underestimated), the valuation of the services sold in this case also turns out to be underestimated;

The valuation of banking and insurance services is also underestimated, since sometimes the income from these operations is reinvested (invested) in the same foreign countries where they were received.

In general, the completeness and reliability of statistical accounting of international trade in services remains one of the complex and not fully resolved problems of international statistics.

In the industry structure (by main types of services) of service exports until the early 80s. Transport services predominated, but in subsequent decades they gave way to “other private services” and tourism, which developed much faster. At the beginning of the 21st century, “other private services” quite rightly took 1st place in the export of services (about 45%), since they include, in particular, such dynamically developing types of services as financial, information, communication, and consulting services.

Russia's services export structure currently looks like as follows: 22.3% - tourism, 37.1% - transport services and 40.6% - other private services.

The geographical structure of international trade in services is also changing.

International exchange of services occurs primarily within the group of industrialized countries. The trend in international trade in services, as in international trade in goods, is, on the one hand, the prevalence, and on the other, a gradual reduction in the share of this group of countries in trade in services (up to 70% in the late 90s) in as a result of activation in the service sector of newly industrialized countries and other developing countries.

In terms of volumes of trade in services, the United States leads with a growing gap from other countries (14.3% of world exports and 11.7% of world imports of services in 2006, according to WTO data). The United States accounts for the maximum volume of trade in services through TNCs. It is characteristic that the United States, with its traditional deficit (negative balance) in foreign trade in goods, has a significant positive balance in foreign trade in services. In terms of services exports, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, and Japan follow after the United States.

Unlike the USA, Germany, Japan, Canada and China import more services than they export, i.e. are net importers of services. Most developing countries have a negative balance in foreign trade in services.

Russia is a net importer of commercial services. According to the WTO, negative balance In 2006, services in Russia amounted to $15 billion. Due to the growth in imports of services, the negative balance in services is increasing.

We can talk about the specialization of national economies in the export of services in the system of international division of labor. In industrialized countries, these are primarily financial, telecommunications, information, business services, advanced technologies, as well as education, healthcare and tourism services. Some developing countries also specialize in the production and provision of services - tourism (Turkey, Egypt, Thailand, etc.), transport (Egypt, Panama and other states of the so-called “open ship registry”), financial (offshore centers of the Caribbean and the Pacific Islands ). The role of new industrial states, China and a number of other states in international trade in services is increasing. Russia is a net exporter transport services and here has prospects for using its Eurasian position to organize transit, the development of services in the field of high technology and international tourism.

The most dynamic and rapidly developing sector of world trade is trade in manufactured products, especially knowledge-intensive goods. Thus, the export of science-intensive products amounts to more than $500 billion per year, and the share of high-tech products is approaching 40% in the exports of industrialized countries.

The role of trade in machinery and equipment has increased significantly. The export of electrical and electronic equipment is growing at the fastest pace, accounting for more than 25% of all exports of mechanical engineering products. The annual growth of the world microelectronics market up to 2010 is projected at 10-15 percent. In 1996, global sales electronic devices of all types exceeded the milestone of 1 trillion. dollars.

In connection with the increase in global exports of machinery and equipment (the leaders here are industrialized countries), the exchange of relevant services has also sharply increased: scientific and technical production, commercial, financial and credit. Active trade in machinery and equipment has given rise to a number of new services, such as engineering, leasing, consulting, information and computing services.

In general, global exports of services in the 1980s showed significant growth, which slowed down somewhat in the mid-1990s. The development of the world economy is largely determined by the growth of trade in services - transport, financial, tourism. In 1995, it reached $1,230 billion (exports of goods, respectively, $4,875 billion) and thus accounted for a fifth of the total value of world trade. The figures given refer only to cross-border trade that appears in national balances of payments. According to foreign experts, transactions with services carried out by branches are approximately three times larger foreign companies on the territory of other countries. One of the fastest growing areas of international trade is trade in chemical products. An important trend of the 90s was the very dynamic growth of the global metallurgical market. The peculiarities of this market include a relative, but quite noticeable movement in the share of traditional exporters - Japan and EU countries. The positions of the Republic of Korea and Brazil have noticeably strengthened. The United States and China continue to be the largest net importers.

It should be noted that there is a trend in increasing consumption of raw materials and energy resources. However, the growth rate of trade in raw materials lags noticeably behind the overall growth rate of world trade. This lag is explained by the creation of substitutes for raw materials, more economical use and intensification of their processing.

Tightening environmental protection requirements, aimed at limiting the emission of gases and, above all, carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, to prevent global climate change, in the future will have a certain impact on reducing the consumption of coal and, to some extent, oil, as the most environmentally polluting energy sources resources. At the same time, the role of renewable energy sources will be increased and natural gas.

Long-term trends in the development of the world food market are the rapid development of trade compared to the growth rates of food in individual countries. Another trend is the rapid development of trade finished products compared to agricultural raw materials.

Characterizing the sectoral structure of world trade in the first half of the 20th century (before the Second World War) and in subsequent decades, we see significant changes. If in the first half of the century 2/3 of world trade turnover was accounted for by food, raw materials and fuel, then by the end of the century they accounted for only 1/4. The share of trade in manufacturing products increased from 1/3 to 3/4. And finally, more than 1/3 of all world trade by the end of the 90s was trade in machinery and equipment.

The commodity structure of world trade is changing under the influence of scientific and technological revolution and the deepening of the international division of labor. Currently highest value manufacturing products account for 3/4 of global trade turnover in world trade. The share of such types of products as machinery, equipment, vehicles, chemical products, manufacturing products, especially high-tech goods is growing especially rapidly. The share of food, raw materials and fuel is approximately 1/4.

In global food trade, there is a relative decrease in demand for it. To a certain extent, this is due to the expansion of food production in industrialized countries.

One of the fastest growing areas of international trade is trade in chemical products. It should be noted that there is a trend in increasing consumption of raw materials and energy resources. However, the growth rate of trade in raw materials lags noticeably behind the overall growth rate of world trade. This lag is due to the development of substitutes for raw materials, their more economical use, and the intensification of their processing.

An important trend is the expansion of trade in this group of goods between industrial developed countries. In connection with the growth of such trade, the exchange of services has sharply increased: scientific and technical, production, commercial, financial and credit nature. Active trade in machinery and equipment has given rise to a number of new services, such as engineering, leasing, consulting, information and computing services, which, in turn, stimulates the intercountry exchange of services, especially of a scientific, technical, production, and communication financial and credit nature. At the same time, trade in services (especially such as information computing, consulting, leasing, engineering) stimulates world trade goods industrial purposes.

The export of electrical and electronic equipment is growing at the fastest pace, accounting for more than 25% of all exports of mechanical engineering products.

According to rough estimates, world trade turnover reached $11.9 trillion in 1998. Analysis of changes in international trade, including at the present stage, involves consideration of two aspects: firstly, the rate of its growth in general (exports and imports) and relative to production growth; secondly, shifts in the structure: commodity (the ratio of the main groups of goods and services) and geographic (shares of regions, groups of countries and individual countries).

As for the first, we can state: sustainable, faster growth rates of world trade turnover are an indicator of new qualitative features of international trade associated with an increase in the capacity of world markets. Characteristic were the rapid, fairly high rates of expansion of trade in finished industrial products, and in them - machinery and equipment, and even higher rates of growth in trade in products of communications equipment, electrical and electronic equipment, computers, etc. The exchange of components and assemblies for assemblies, supplied through production cooperation, within TNCs expanded even faster. And one more phenomenon of dynamics - accelerated growth international trade in services.

All this could not but affect radical shifts in both commodity and geographical structure world foreign trade exchange. At the same time, the share of the main groups of developed, developing and former socialist countries has remained practically unchanged over the past 15-20 years. In the first case, these are values ​​​​of the order of 70-76%, in the second, this value is in the range of 20-24% and for last group this figure does not exceed 6-8%.

In world commodity exchange foreign trade There is an obvious upward trend in the share of finished products, which account for more than 70% of world trade. The remaining share is divided approximately equally between agricultural exports and extractive industries. By comparison, in the middle of this century, raw materials accounted for about two-thirds of exports and only one-third for manufactured goods.

Services currently account for almost a quarter of international trade exchanges. That is why we separately consider global trade in services.

Russia's current position in international trade is clearly discordant with the established trends and trends in the international division of labor in the vast majority of countries. Possessing unique natural resources, large production, scientific and personnel potential, Russia is still content with the position of a country of fuel and raw materials specialization. Up to 90% of its exports are energy resources, raw materials and semi-finished products, and the share in world trade does not exceed 1.5%.

High levels of the Russian export quota - 45% in 2000, calculated at the official exchange rate of the Bank of Russia, compared to 7-8% in Soviet era- a direct result of the loss of almost half of the country’s economic potential in the 90s, rising prices and the depreciation of the ruble after August 1998. At the same time, this quota is not an indicator of a diversified economy, but most likely indicates excessive dependence on foreign market demand, the market conditions for these goods in the long term can change dramatically. The greatest export dependence is in the mining industry and primary processing industries: in the production of energy resources - 46% for oil, 33% for gas, and in metallurgy, wood processing, basic chemistry and the production of mineral fertilizers export quota reaches 70-80%.

IN recent years It was precisely the export of raw materials, thanks to high prices on the world market, especially for oil, that became the driving force for the development of the entire national economy and its further focus on fuel and raw materials. In 1996-2000 exports increased by more than 22%, providing 6.5% of GDP growth and a decisive contribution to overcoming the consequences of the 1998 crisis.

In the crisis conditions of the transition period in Russia, revenues from exports, primarily raw materials, played the role of one of the few effective tools for stabilizing domestic financial market, replenishing the budget, maintaining the ruble exchange rate and accumulating sufficiently large foreign exchange reserves, so necessary to repay the high external debt.

Table 26.5. Dynamics of foreign trade Russian Federation

Indicator	1996-2000		2005 billion dollars
	billion dollars	%
Turnover - total, including:	625	100	370
far abroad	494	79	315
CIS countries	131	21	55
Export - total, including:	418	100	245
far abroad	347	83	212
CIS countries	71	17	34
Import - total, including:	207	100	125
far abroad	147	71	103
CIS countries	60	29	22

Source: Customs statistics of the Russian Federation.

Russia's foreign trade turnover in recent years has been characterized by a constant, almost twofold excess of exports over imports: asset trade balance in 2005 reached 120 billion dollars. At the same time, there have been no significant positive changes in the commodity structure of this turnover over the past decade. The main place in exports with a tendency to further increase continues to be occupied by the products of extractive industries, primarily oil and natural gas - 55% in 2002 versus 45% in 1990, metals (about 19 and 16%, respectively), products of the chemical and timber processing industries (about 12 and 9%), machinery, equipment and means of transport (9.5 and 18%), food and agricultural raw materials (2.6 and 2.1%). In 2005, Russia's foreign trade turnover increased by 1/3 compared to the previous year, including exports by 34% and imports by 28.5%.

Russian supplies of science-intensive products to the world market amount to about 8-8.5 billion dollars, or 7-8% of total Russian exports of goods and services. In 2005, exports of machinery, equipment and vehicles accounted for only about 5% of total exports. The main part of these supplies (6-7 billion dollars) falls on the so-called sensitive products - weapons, goods and services of the nuclear and rocket and space industries.

In imports over the same years, the main items continue to be machinery, equipment and means of transport (36 and 44%, respectively), food and agricultural raw materials (22.5 and 22.7%), and chemical industry(17 and 9%), textiles and footwear (5 and 9%), and some metals (6 and 5%).

The relatively high profitability of raw material exports that has persisted in recent years and the economic policy that has developed taking this into account and the interests of leading industrial and financial groups give little hope for a large-scale flow of income into the manufacturing sectors of the Russian Federation. Moreover, large assets still continue to be transferred abroad.

As is known, specialization of fuel and raw materials in strategic terms is unpromising, since it actually means eating up national wealth and seriously undermines the production, scientific and technical development potential of the nation and, ultimately, its international competitiveness. Changing export orientation is only possible with active government intervention, which seems to be an extremely difficult matter.

Improving Russia's international specialization would be possible in the following main areas. Firstly, this is a serious diversification of existing exports by increasing the degree of processing of manufactured products, expanding the range of main product groups of exports, and more actively involving new regions of the country in foreign economic activity. This is perhaps the least expensive way.

Another way is the comprehensive expansion of domestic high-tech exports, including products of electrical engineering, electronics, scientific instrumentation, special equipment and weapons, goods and services of the nuclear and aeronautical industries. Potential opportunities for these industries to enter the foreign market are provided by rapidly developing technological and production cooperation in the world. The difficulties on this path today are the relatively low quality of domestic products, the lack of access to consumer market many types of special equipment and services, a violation of previously established connections between science and production, and its largely outdated technological base.

Serious opportunities for financial security Russia has these areas in the form of its already accumulated record-high gold and foreign exchange reserves (about $150 billion in mid-2005) and fairly large funds accumulated in the “stabilization fund,” mainly due to the extremely favorable conditions on the world oil market. An indicative precedent in this regard was the merger in mid-2000 of Severstal with the European concern Arcelon. It allows us to talk about real possibility Russia's participation in European integration according to a new scenario, i.e. on the basis of the parties using the advantages of the international division of labor and specialization, without waiting for interstate agreements on a free trade zone or a common economic space.

In addition, the real way for our enterprises to successfully enter the highly competitive world markets in the most dynamic sector of the world economy and international trade - the manufacturing industry - lies through broad cooperation with leading companies in industrialized countries.

The main trade and political problem for Russia today is to find acceptable conditions for joining the WTO, which opens the way to equal participation of our country in international trade. During negotiations on the part of the most influential members of this organization, the so-called quadros, i.e. The USA, EU, Japan and Canada impose requirements on Russia that are not obligatory for the acceding countries. These include the complete abolition of import duties on a wide range of goods, the abandonment of regulation of domestic prices (tariffs) for energy resources and their increase to world levels, large-scale liberalization of the service sector, restrictions state support agriculture and subsidies for exporters of agricultural products. These demands indicate a desire to accept Russia on terms other than “standard” ones, i.e. under the conditions that the WTO usually applies to countries with weak competitive positions.

It should be taken into account that the degree of liberalization of Russian imports is already quite high. Thus, the arithmetic average level of duties in Russia in 2001 was 11.8% versus 7.8% in 1993. For the EU, this figure is 3.9 and 3.7%, respectively, for the USA - 4.0 and 5.6% . At the same time, it is known that India, China, Vietnam, Romania, Bulgaria, Mexico, Brazil and a number of other countries that relatively recently became members of the WTO already have a higher level of customs protection compared to Russia.

The essence of the discussion in our country on the issue of participation in the WTO comes down to the fact that it should not be an end in itself and cannot be achieved at any cost. Main benefit for a country, if it joins the WTO, consists of the “voluntary-forced” formation of a truly market economy, competitive environment, where all the participants foreign economic activity will have to comply with the rules of the game established in the world. As a result, gradually, during a pre-agreed transition period, a predictable and reliable organizational and legal basis for sustainable and confident further economic growth of Russia will be created.

Self-test questions

1. Reveal the essence of the concepts “international division of labor” and “international specialization and cooperation”, show their role in the development of world trade and global production.
2. What are the "comparative advantages" of a country's participation in world trade?
3. Name the main indicators characterizing the degree of a country's participation in international trade.
4. What is the relationship between trade in goods and services?
5. What goods and services determine the development of modern international trade?
6. What are the main directions and features of modern trade policy (bilateral and multilateral)?
7. What are the features of the application of most favored treatment and national treatment?
8. What are the specifics of Russia’s participation in international trade, the features of its commodity structure of exports and imports?
9. How does the WTO differ from other international economic organizations?
10. Under what conditions is it possible for Russia to join the WTO?

Traditional and most developed form international economic relations is foreign trade. According to some estimates, trade accounts for about 80 percent of all international economic relations. Modern international economic relations, characterized by the active development of world trade, introduce a lot of new and specific things into the process of development of national economies.
For any country, the role of foreign trade can hardly be overestimated. According to the definition of J. Sachs, “... the economic success of any country in the world is based on foreign trade. Not a single country has yet managed to create a healthy economy by isolating itself from the world. economic system»
International trade is a form of communication between producers of different countries, arising on the basis of the international division of labor, and expresses their mutual economic dependence.
Structural changes occurring in the economies of countries under the influence of the scientific and technological revolution, specialization and cooperation industrial production strengthen the interaction of national economies. This contributes to the activation of international trade. International trade, mediating the movement of all intercountry commodity flows, is growing faster production. According to research by the World Trade Organization, for every 10% increase in global production there is a 16% increase in global trade. This creates more favorable conditions for its development. When disruptions occur in trade, production development slows down.

The term “foreign trade” refers to the trade of a country with other countries, consisting of paid import (import) and paid export (export) of goods.
Diverse foreign trade activities is divided by product specialization into: trade in finished products, trade in machinery and equipment, trade in raw materials and trade in services.
International trade is the paid total trade turnover between all countries of the world. However, the concept of “international trade” is also used in a narrower sense. It denotes, for example, the total trade turnover of industrialized countries, the total trade turnover of developing countries, the total trade turnover of countries of a continent, region, for example, countries Eastern Europe etc.
The most dynamic and rapidly developing sector of world trade is trade in manufactured products, especially knowledge-intensive goods. Thus, the export of science-intensive products amounts to more than $500 billion per year, and the share of high-tech products is approaching 40% in the exports of industrialized countries.
The role of trade in machinery and equipment has increased significantly. The export of electrical and electronic equipment is growing at the fastest pace, accounting for more than 25% of all exports of mechanical engineering products. The annual growth of the world microelectronics market up to 2010 is projected at 10-15 percent. In 1996, global sales of electronic devices of all types surpassed the 1 trillion mark. dollars.
In connection with the increase in global exports of machinery and equipment (the leaders here are industrialized countries), the exchange of relevant services has also sharply increased: scientific and technical production, commercial, financial and credit. Active trade in machinery and equipment has given rise to a number of new services, such as engineering, leasing, consulting, information and computing services.
In general, global exports of services in the 1980s showed significant growth, which slowed down somewhat in the mid-1990s. The development of the world economy is largely determined by the growth of trade in services - transport, financial, tourism. In 1995, it reached $1,230 billion (exports of goods, respectively, $4,875 billion) and thus accounted for a fifth of the total value of world trade. The figures given refer only to cross-border trade that appears in national balances of payments. According to foreign experts, transactions involving services of branches of foreign companies in other countries are carried out for approximately three times the amount. One of the fastest growing areas of international trade is trade in chemical products. An important trend of the 90s was the very dynamic growth of the global metallurgical market. The peculiarities of this market include a relative, but quite noticeable movement in the share of traditional exporters - Japan and EU countries. The positions of the Republic of Korea and Brazil have noticeably strengthened. The United States and China continue to be the largest net importers.
It should be noted that there is a trend in increasing consumption of raw materials and energy resources. However, the growth rate of trade in raw materials lags noticeably behind the overall growth rate of world trade. This lag is explained by the creation of substitutes for raw materials, more economical use and intensification of their processing.
Tightening environmental protection requirements, aimed at limiting the emission of gases and, above all, carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, to prevent global climate change, in the future will have a certain impact on reducing the consumption of coal and, to some extent, oil, as the most environmentally polluting energy sources resources. At the same time, the role of renewable energy sources and natural gas will be increased.
Long-term trends in the development of the world food market are the rapid development of trade compared to the growth rates of food in individual countries. Another trend is the rapid development of trade in finished products compared to agricultural raw materials.
Characterizing the sectoral structure of world trade in the first half of the 20th century (before the Second World War) and in subsequent decades, we see significant changes. If in the first half of the century 2/3 of world trade turnover was accounted for by food, raw materials and fuel, then by the end of the century they accounted for only 1/4. The share of trade in manufacturing products increased from 1/3 to 3/4. And finally, more than 1/3 of all world trade by the end of the 90s was trade in machinery and equipment.
The commodity structure of world trade is changing under the influence of scientific and technological revolution and the deepening of the international division of labor. Currently, manufacturing products are of greatest importance in world trade: they account for 3/4 of world trade turnover. The share of such types of products as machinery, equipment, vehicles, chemical products, manufacturing products, especially high-tech goods, is growing especially rapidly. The share of food, raw materials and fuel is approximately 1/4.
In global food trade, there is a relative decrease in demand for it. To a certain extent, this is due to the expansion of food production in industrialized countries.
One of the fastest growing areas of international trade is trade in chemical products. It should be noted that there is a trend in increasing consumption of raw materials and energy resources. However, the growth rate of trade in raw materials lags noticeably behind the overall growth rate of world trade. This lag is due to the development of substitutes for raw materials, their more economical use, and the intensification of their processing.
An important trend is the expansion of trade in this group of goods between industrialized countries. In connection with the growth of such trade, the exchange of services has sharply increased: scientific and technical, production, commercial, financial and credit nature. Active trade in machinery and equipment has given rise to a number of new services, such as engineering, leasing, consulting, information and computing services, which, in turn, stimulates the intercountry exchange of services, especially of a scientific, technical, production, and communication financial and credit nature. At the same time, trade in services (especially such as information computing, consulting, leasing, engineering) stimulates global trade in industrial goods (Table 2.1).
The export of electrical and electronic equipment is growing at the fastest pace, accounting for more than 25% of all exports of mechanical engineering products.

Table 2.1
Commodity structure of world exports by main
product groups, %
Continuation of the table. 2.1

As foreign trade statistics show, over the past decade and a half there has been a stable and constant growth global foreign trade turnover exceeding the growth rate of GDP, which convincingly indicates that all countries are increasingly drawn into the system of international division of labor. Global exports more than doubled, rising from $2 trillion. dollars in 1980 to 5.5 trillion. dollars in 1997. This means an increase in export volumes by more than 70% in the 80s and by more than 33% in the first half of the 90s. Import indicators are also close to these figures (Table 2.2).

Table 2.2
World trade results (exports and imports)
Changes, %, compared to the previous year Export
North America(USA and Canada) 9.5 8.0
European Union 8.0 6.0
Countries with economies in transition 14.5 11.5
Japan 3.5 12.5
Latin America 12.0 3.0
Southeast Asian countries ( South Korea,
Malaysia,
Singapore, Taiwan, Hong Kong) 14.5 15.5
Import
North America 5.5 5.5
European Union 4.0 2.5
Countries with economies in transition 3.5 12.0
Japan -0.5 2.5
Latin America 11.0 10.5
Southeast Asian countries 3.5 4.0

According to rough estimates, world trade turnover reached 11.9 trillion in 1998. dollars. Analysis of changes in international trade, including at the present stage, involves consideration of two aspects: firstly, the rate of its growth in general (exports and imports) and relative to production growth; secondly, shifts in the structure: product (ratio of main groups of goods and services) and geographical (share of regions, groups of countries and individual countries).
As for the first, we can state: sustainable, faster growth rates of world trade turnover are an indicator of new qualitative features of international trade associated with an increase in the capacity of world markets. Characteristic were the rapid, fairly high rates of expansion of trade in finished industrial products, and in them - machinery and equipment, and even higher rates of growth in trade in products of communications equipment, electrical and electronic equipment, computers, etc. The exchange of components and assemblies for units supplied through production cooperation within TNCs expanded even faster. And another dynamic phenomenon is the accelerated growth of international trade in services.
All this could not but affect radical shifts in both the commodity and geographical structure of world foreign trade exchange. At the same time, the share of the main groups of developed, developing and former socialist countries has remained practically unchanged over the past 15-20 years. In the first case, these values ​​are about 70-76%, in the second, this value is in the range of 20-24%, and for the last group this figure does not exceed 6-8%.
In the commodity exchange of world foreign trade, there is an obvious growing trend in the share of finished goods, which account for more than 70% of world trade. The remaining share is divided approximately equally between agricultural exports and extractive industries. By comparison, in the middle of this century, primary goods accounted for about two-thirds of exports and only one-third for manufactured goods.
Services currently account for almost a quarter of international trade exchanges. That is why we consider the services market separately.

Many types of services can be traded internationally. Unlike trade in goods, exporting or importing services does not necessarily mean crossing a customs border. The service can be provided by a non-resident within the customs territory of a given country, in which case the transaction will be considered international. Like payments for the export and import of goods, international trade in services is reflected in the balance of payments. As stated in the 1999 Business Guide to the GATS, a service becomes a subject of international trade if the producer of the service and its buyer are individuals or legal entities - residents of different countries, regardless of the place of transactions between them.

International exports of services are growing faster than international exports of goods. Exports of services amounted to $402 billion in 1980, and in 2014 it (according to WTO data) amounted to $494 billion. The official website of the WTO is https://www.wto.org, i.e. It has grown more than 12 times. The share of exports of services in total international trade in goods and services was approximately 21% in 2014. In the future, this indicator tends to grow, which has slowed down somewhat due to the persistence of high level world prices for fuel and raw materials.

According to the WTO, Russian exports of commercial services in 2014 amounted to $65 billion (1.3% of world exports of commercial services, 22nd place). Imports of commercial services in Russia, according to the WTO, in 2014 amounted to $119 billion, 2.5% of world imports of services (11th place among the leading countries importing commercial services). In general, Russia is actively joining the global services market, although its share in it remains insignificant.

International trade in services in its absolute scale is significantly smaller than international trade in goods. The reasons for this include the following:

• 1. The main part of services (especially services from outside government organizations) is implemented within countries (this is clearly seen when comparing data on the share of services in the GDP of individual countries and data on the share of services in international trade).
• 2. Trade in services, as it develops, requires increasingly higher technical equipment. However, this level (especially in the field of telecommunications, information, information, transport, and tourism services) was reached relatively recently.
• 3. Much greater progress has been made in liberalizing international trade in goods in recent years than in international trade in services. The changes that were achieved by the GATT and then the WTO related primarily to trade in goods (most favored nation treatment, favorable conditions for access to domestic markets, national treatment). Services (except for the settlement at the international level of some transport and tourism problems) long time remained within the competence of national governments and were not subject to multilateral regulation of international trade.

However, the dynamic growth of exports and imports of services is one of the most important characteristics of modern world trade. Many experts believe that officially published data on the volume of international trade in services underestimate the actual value of services sold in international trade. The reasons for the actual understatement are considered to be the following:

• ? underestimation of tourists' spending abroad;
• ? services are often presented in conjunction with goods sold abroad (and the cost of services is often fixed as part of the cost of the goods); in general, in such a situation, it can be quite difficult to separate the actual cost of the goods and the cost of services;
• ? services constitute a fairly significant part of intra-company exchange within TNCs, and given the fact that the sale of both goods and services in them is carried out at so-called transfer prices (which are often deliberately underestimated), the valuation of the services sold in this case also turns out to be underestimated;
• ? The valuation of banking and insurance services is also underestimated, since sometimes the income from these operations is reinvested (invested) in the same foreign countries where they were received.

In general, the completeness and reliability of statistical accounting of international trade in services remains one of the complex and not fully resolved problems of international statistics.

According to the statistical approaches current in the WTO, the sectoral structure (by main types of services) of exports of commercial services is represented by three main types: transport, tourism and the so-called others (including a fairly wide range of services).