The barriers to international trade

Tariffs are duties or taxes on imports. There are two basic types. Revenue tariffs (фискальный тариф, фискальные пошлины) are levied as a way to raise money. They are usually low relative to the price of an item. If revenue tariffs are set too high, they discourage buyers and don/t raise revenue for the government. Protective tariffs (протекционистский тариф; защитная, протекционистская пошлина) are levied to protect a domestic industry from foreign competition, rather than to raise money. They discourage buyers by making the foreign product more expensive than a similar item produced in a native country.

Quotas. Restrictions on the number of specific goods that can enter the country from abroad are called quotas. Like protective tariffs, quotas limit the amount of foreign competition an industry will have to face. By restricting imports, quotas reduce the supply of particular items in domestic markets and cause their prices to rise. For example, the United States has quotas that restrict imports of textiles and apparel (одежда).

Preservation of standards. Government rules and regulations can also make it difficult to import goods. For example, the government may require people in other nations to meet labor standards that require higher pay and benefits. Or it may require producers in other countries to meet strict environmental standards. The main purpose of the standards may be to preserve the quality of people’s lives, but they also restrict market competition. This occurs because producers in those nations who are unable to meet the standards will be prohibited from exporting their products to the protected domestic market.

Other tactics. Other strategies also affect the free flow of trade. One is export subsidy (денежное ассигнование на экспорт), a payment by a country to its exporters, enabling them to sell their products abroad at a lower price than at home. For example, European governments subsidize their farmers, who are then able to undersell (продавать(ся) дешевле других) others farmers in the world market.

In the second half of the 20^th century, there were many efforts to tear down trade barriers to enable people of different nations to exchange more freely. Leading these efforts was the General Agreement of Tariffs and Trade (GATT), which was replaced by the world Trade organization (WTO) after 1944. The activities of GATT and the WTO were multilateral, since they involved joint efforts of many nations to reduce trade barriers. In contrast, regional organizations, such as Northern American Association (NAFTA) and the European Union have taken steps to reduce trade barriers among nations of a particular area of the world.

(Based on: JA Economics)

ACTIVE VOCABULARY

ad valorem duty   at coast bonded warehouse bond warrant compound (mixed) duty consumables copy of the approved annual budget and work program customs clearance customs permit delivery order dumping duty free importation of goods excise duty export duty home-produced goods import duty Import/Export Items in bond inspection order luxury goods negligence Owner’s Guaranty Letter preferential duty protected duty PSA (Production Sharing Agreement) sampling order specific (fixed) duty tax exemption to clear goods through customs to declare goods to file with the customs authorities the necessary documentation for importation to impose duty

пошлина "ад валорем" (взимаемая в процентном отношении к ценности товара) по себестоимости таможенный склад документ о хранении товара на складе смешанная пошлина расходные материалы; потребительские товары копия заверенного годового баланса и программы работ     таможенная очистка (оформление) товара таможенное разрешение распоряжение о выдаче товара со склада демпинг беспошлинный ввоз (импорт) товаров   акцизный сбор экспортная пошлина отечественные товары импортная пошлина; налог на импорт экспортно-импортные поставки находящийся на таможенном складе; нерастаможенный инспекционный ордер предметы роскоши небрежность гарантийное письмо владельца преференциальная пошлина протекционная пошлина СРП (Соглашение о разделе продукции)   ордер на получение образцов специфическая (фиксированная) пошлина освобождение от уплаты налогов проводить таможенную очистку товара   декларировать товар оформить (согласовать) через таможенные органы все необходимые для импорта документы     облагать пошлиной

IV. Here are some special export-import provisions within the frameworks of PSA. Read and translate this text from Russian into English and be ready for its discussion on the basis of active vocabulary, key terms quiz, review and discussion questions.