Practical English in Foreign Trade,Introductory Remarks,International Trade (1),The definition of international trade International trade can be defined as the exchange of goods and services produced in one country with those produced in another. Simply we can say, international trade refers to transaction between parties from different countries. But sometimes business across the borders of different customs areas of the same country is also regarded as import and export, such as business between Hong Kong and Taiwan.,Major differences between international trade and domestic trade. A. Differences in legal system The countries involved often have different legal systems, and one or more parties will have to adjust themselves to operate in compliance with the foreign law. 不同的国家通常拥有不同的法律体系，参与商务的一方或几方不得不根据外国的法律来调整自己的经营活动。,B. Differences in currencies Different countries usually use different currencies and the parties concerned will have to decide which currency to use and do everything necessary as regards convention. Uncertainties and even risks are often involve in the use of a foreign currency. 不同的的国家通常使用不同的货币。参与商务的有关方必须选择使用哪种货币，并就兑换等事宜做好一切必要的工作。在使用外汇过程中，往往存在不确定因素甚至是风险。,D. Differences in national and economic conditions Countries vary in national and economic conditions and may have different policies towards foreign trade and investment, making international business more complex than domestic business. 不同的国家自然条件和经济状况不同，对待外国的贸易和投资的政策不同，这使得国际商务比国内商务更加复杂。 With the development of economic globalization, few people or companies can completely stay away from international business. Some knowledge in this respect is necessary both for the benefit of enterprises and personal advancement. 随着经济全球化的发展，很少有人和公司能完全置身于国际商务之外。因此，在这方面具有一定知识是十分必要的，这既有益于企业的发展又有益于个人的进步。,The theory of comparative advantage International trade can be defined as the exchange of goods and services produced in one country with those produced in other. In the complex economic world, no country can be completely self-sufficient. The distribution of natural resources is uneven. Some countries are abundant in resources, while elsewhere resources are scarce or even nonexistent. And a country may be rich in some resources but poor in others. For instance, Britain has large resources of coal but lacks some metal reserves. Kuwait has vast oil deposits but little farm produce. And Japan relies heavily on import for most of the primary commodities. That is the reason why international trade first began. 国际贸易可以解释为一国所生产的货物和服务与另外一国进行交换。在这个复杂的经济社会，没有一个国家能够完全自给自足。 自然资源的分布是不均衡的。有些国家的资源非常丰富，而其他国家资源稀少，甚至没有资源。一个国家可能某些资源丰富，但其他资源贫乏。例如，英国有大量的煤炭资源，但缺少某些金属资源；科威特石油储量巨大，但农产品却稀少；而日本多数初级产品却严重依赖进口。这就是最初国际贸易形成的原因。,With the development of manufacturing and technology, there arose another incentive for trade, international specialization_ one country producing more of a commodity than it uses itself and selling the remainder to other countries. Such specialization constitutes an important basis for international trade. 随着生产和技术的发展，产生了另一个刺激国际贸易的因素，即国际生产专门化一个国家所生产的某种商品的数量超出它的消费，并将所剩商品卖给其他国家。这种专门化构成了国际贸易的一个重要基础。,Absolute advantage and comparative advantage are two theories of international specializations. 绝对优势学说和比较优势学说是国际分工中的两种理论。 The theory of absolute advantage holds that a commodity will be produced in the country where it costs least in terms of resources (capital, land and labor). 按照绝对优势理论，一种产品的生产将在生产该产品成本最低的国家内进行。成本包括资本，土地和劳动力等要素。,Let us assure there are only two countries producing two commodities under perfect competition. Output per man-year of labor 人均年产量 Country A Country B Computers 50 10 Cars 20 40 我们从表上可以看到甲国在生产计算机方面效率高于乙国，也就具有绝对优势，而乙国在汽车生产方面具有绝对优势。这样甲国将专门生产计算机，并用一部分计算机同乙国交换汽车。而乙国也可以用汽车同甲国交换计算机。两国通过生产专门化和贸易都将获得利益。,But, according to the theory, trade occurs only when each country has an absolute advantage over the other in the production of one commodity. In reality, it is not rare that one country has no absolute advantage in any commodity. Will trade occur in these cases? The theory of comparative advantage has offer a satisfactory answer to this question. 但是，根据这一理论，只有当一个国家生产的某一商品对另一个国家具有绝对优势时，贸易才会发生。实际上，某个国家生产任何商品都不具有绝对优势的情况并不罕见。在这种情况下，贸易会发生吗？比较优势学说在这个问题上提供了一个更加满意的答案。,The theory of comparative advantage holds that even if a country is less efficient than another in the production of both commodities, i.e. it has absolute disadvantage in producing both commodities, there is still a basis for mutually beneficial trade. The first country should specialize in the production and export of commodity in which its absolute disadvantage is smaller, and import the commodity in which its absolute disadvantage is greater. 比较优势学说认为，即使一个国家在生产两种商品时都比另一个国家效率低，即生产这两种商品时都处于不利情况，仍然存在进行相互贸易的基础。第一个国家应该专门生产和出口其绝对不利较小的那种商品，即具有比较优势的商品，而进口其绝对不利较大的商品，即具有比较劣势的商品。,Comparative advantage is not a static concept. A country may develop a particular comparative advantage purely through its own actions, independent of the endowments of nature. Switzerlands compara