International trade in services. Dynamics and structure of international trade in services

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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 provides the following definition of services: services are a change in the position of an institutional unit that occurs as a result of actions and on the basis of a 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 relations in general, and increasing incomes 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 International Standardized Industrial Classification adopted by the United Nations, includes:

1) public 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 of 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 production factors, services are divided into factor services, which arise in connection with the international (intercountry) movement of production factors, primarily capital and labor, 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 of international trade in 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 on opposite sides of the 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. They move across the customs border individuals- residents of one state producing and/or consuming services in another state (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 manufactured services have moved into the category of tradable (in international trade) services. In this regard, some concepts relating to the export and import of services have acquired a new meaning. 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) establishment of 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.

The IMF's international financial statistics 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 individuals or legal entities- residents 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 the WTO, Russian exports of 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 the WTO, 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 global imports of commercial services and 20th place among the leading countries importing commercial services. Thus, Russia is more actively involved in the global services market, although its specific gravity remains insignificant on it.

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 from 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 the liberalization of 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 of some transport and tourism problems at the international level) for a long time remained within 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 together 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.

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.

In Russia, the structure of exports of services is currently 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 well as in international trade in goods, is, on the one hand, the prevalence, and on the other hand, 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 TNC channels. 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, Russia's negative balance in services amounted to $15 billion in 2006. 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, health care 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 Sea 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.

In the last two decades, a number of new very significant long-term incentives for the development of the service sector have appeared. Modern technology has a multifaceted impact on services. scientific and technological revolution. Based on computerization, information technology, and new means of communication, a whole range of new services has emerged and rapidly established itself in the markets, their traditional types are being radically updated, and the quality of service is improving. By removing technical barriers to the transmission of many services over distance, new technologies are opening up a global market for them. The development of services is also being revived by the privatization and deregulation of many industries (transport, telecommunications, financial and insurance services) carried out in many countries, as well as the liberalization of foreign economic transactions.

A strong stimulus for the development of a number of services was the large-scale structural and technological restructuring of material production in developed foreign countries in the 80s. During its course, the needs of industrial companies for high-quality business services related to various and complex problems of their restructuring and development - technical, sales, management, etc. - have grown significantly. At the same time, their non-core divisions specializing in services were separated from large firms and moved into independent business. The result of the interaction and mutual influence of long-term and transitory factors was a significant increase in the contribution of service industries to economic growth, economic efficiency, social progress and the globalization of economic life.

In the parameters of economic dynamics, the effect of these factors was manifested in the expansion of demand for services on the part of the main agents of the economic process. Share of costs for services in the total consumer expenditures of the population for last years in the USA it increased from 51 to 59%, in France - from 38 to 47%, Great Britain - from 39 to 48%, Japan - from 51 to 58%. The demand for services from the modern economy has grown even more dynamically. If in the past the growth of services was determined primarily by consumer demand, now, according to estimates, 50-80% of the growth of services in developed countries is provided by demand from production.

Service costs increased by large article production costs of different firms industry affiliation. Thus, in the United States in the private sector, expenses only on business services as a percentage of the final product in the private sector of the economy increased from 6.5 to 9.4%, in the manufacturing industry - from 10.0 to 16.2%, in healthcare - from 4.4 to 11.6%. Such costs are especially significant in the service and high-tech industries themselves.

The expansion of positions and the structural complication of the service sector occurs both as a result of the emergence of new industries (such as computer services, electronic information network services, video business, etc.), and through the “externalization” of services - the separation into independent units of the economic structure of operations that were previously integral part production or household. “Externalization” of services is a qualitative phenomenon, and it is not limited to the mechanical movement of operations from one area to another. Increasing specialization expands the range of services, makes it possible to satisfy consumer needs more fully and better, and economies of scale lead to a relative reduction in the cost of products. In the future, the trend of accelerated development of the service sector will most likely continue, but as its industries reach a high degree of maturity, it will manifest itself in a more complex interaction of growth factors and its suppression; There will undoubtedly be an increase in the flow of resources within the service sector itself.

As for the regional structure of world trade in services, North America and Asia more dynamically increased their participation in the exchange of services than Western Europe. Although the North American and Western European regions have retained export specialization in this area:

International exchange of services occurs mainly between developed countries and is characterized by high degree concentration.

Table 1 - Regional structure of international trade in services in 2000 and 2008 (V %)

The leaders among developed countries are the USA, France, Great Britain, the Netherlands (the largest exporters of services), as well as Germany, Japan, Italy (the largest importers of services):

Table 2 - Leading countries in world trade in services in 2000-2008. (V %)

The largest exporter of commercial services in 2008 was the United States (their share in world exports was 17.5%). Moreover, every year their gap from other countries is increasing. The United States accounts for the maximum volumes of trade in services through the channels of corporate affiliates (sales by affiliates of American TNCs on the international market and sales of services by foreign affiliates of TNCs in the United States).

Among developing countries, three groups of countries are distinguished in international trade in services. The first includes newly industrialized countries, especially in the Asian region. Republic of Korea, Hong Kong, Singapore, o. Taiwan, China, and Thailand are actively participating in the global services market, increasing its volumes by more than 6 times over the past two decades.

The second group consists of countries for which the production of services is the main direction of economic development. As a rule, these are island or small states. They are characterized by a pronounced specialization in tourism, financial or transport services. In general, over the past two decades, these countries have developed along the path of deepening their specialization.

The third group unites the least developed countries that export mainly raw materials to the world market (Angola, Ghana, Libya, Iran, etc.). For them, trade in services in foreign trade is less than 10%.

For the states of Central and of Eastern Europe, the Baltics and the CIS, despite some increase in trade in services, the import of services exceeds the export of services. In this region, the largest share in trade in services belongs to Russia, and the Czech Republic, Poland and Hungary are the most competitive in the global services market.

For the period 1990-2008. a decrease in the volume of foreign trade in services was observed only in some African countries (Algeria, Benin, Zambia, Gabon, Congo, Cameroon, Libya, Nigeria) and Middle Eastern countries (Iran and Saudi Arabia).

Despite the general progressive dynamics of services, clearly defined sectoral differences are also observed. In terms of dynamics and in the foreign trade sphere, the complex of business services is leading: their share in the export of services from developed countries increased over this period from 28 to 44%. These are marketing and advertising services, leasing operations, research firms, security and maintenance services, engineering, construction and architectural services, document reproduction, accounting, auditing operations, etc. In the United States, more than 11 million workers are employed in business services, Japan - about 3 million, Great Britain - 1.5 million, Germany - 1.4 million, France - 0.6 million.

Computer services are developing most rapidly in this industry, forming the basic features of the new economy and, ultimately, determining the country’s competitiveness in the world market. Computerization and informatization of the economic space are becoming one of the leading places in the modern world infrastructure. This trend confirms the already popular expression “who owns the information, owns the world.” Nowadays, information is as important a factor of production as land, labor and capital. A significant increase in the demand for information began in the context of a slowdown in economic development, a deterioration in the situation on world commodity markets and intensifying competition. Many companies began to feel a lack of information to manage the activities of their enterprises, and, above all, to develop a market strategy, develop long-term programs and select promising areas of production and sales. The increase in demand for information is also caused by the general complication of the management structure of companies and the need for them to make reasoned decisions based on forecast information. Demand information Technology, modern computers and office equipment have had a significant impact on the dynamics and structure of global trade in recent years.

Leading positions in the implementation and use of electronic computers and information technologies are occupied by industrialized countries, which account for 80% of the total world computer park. At the same time, the US share in the global information services market is over 50%, which is significantly greater than the share of this country, for example, in commodity trade (12%). Japan is in second place with the volume of purchase and sale transactions of information services. The UK ranks third. Currently, a new era is dawning in industrialized countries - network computerization. The transnational Internet network gave a powerful impetus to this process.

New information technology, represented by Internet services, has gained wide recognition in the business sphere, where it is most popular Email, the economic return of which is most obvious. The usefulness of web pages as a marketing tool is no longer in doubt. They have unlimited potential in advertising the products and services offered by companies. But the search for effective ways to use Internet services in business is just beginning, and in the near future we should expect the development of new types of network services, specialized for the needs of various sectors of the economy.

Another type of service on the global market is advertising. Advertising plays a significant role in international trade, since global commodity markets now operate a large number of companies that need to advertise their products. At the same time, advertising has transformed from an appendage to trade into an independent, very profitable area of business.

The consulting business is growing rapidly, the function of which is to develop and provide clients with scientific solutions to a wide variety of business problems in the form of information, expertise, consultations or direct participation under contracts in management, market research, development and implementation of measures to improve efficiency, etc. A number of non-technical types of business services are also rapidly developing - personnel selection services (including for temporary work), as well as providing public relations for companies, maintaining a normal social climate in production, etc.

The dynamic core of the area under consideration in many countries also includes communications and telecommunications. The top ten countries that have the most developed communications and telecommunications systems that meet international standards include Singapore, New Zealand, Finland, Denmark, USA, Hong Kong, Sweden, Turkey, Norway, Canada.

Currently, credit, financial and insurance services are also developing dynamically. World experience shows that insurance is an effective tool for concentrating and involving funds of corporate organizations and individuals in economic activities, which has a stabilizing effect on the economy. In industrialized countries, the attitude towards the insurance services market is defined as a strategic sector of the economy and a powerful factor of positive impact on it. The most developed country in terms of the insurance market is the United States, whose market share is 48.68% in the global insurance market, as well as Japan - 11.25%, Germany - 10.19%, Great Britain - 5.93%.

Using advanced information technologies and the opportunities opened up by the policy of deregulation and liberalization of markets, all these industries in the last 15-20 years have reached a qualitatively new level in their technical equipment, level and quality of service to production and the population and now play a decisive role in the rapid process of economic globalization life.

In terms of socio-cultural services, social services to those categories of the population who need direct help and support from society - the disabled and the elderly - are leading in terms of pace. Scientific and technological progress, improving the living standards of the population and expanding government health care programs stimulate the development of the healthcare sector. Steady rates are also characteristic of the education sector. These industries form a large sector of the modern service industry. Expenditures on education in leading Western countries in recent years have varied between 4.9-7.1% of GDP, for healthcare - 7.2-14.2%. The group of high-speed industries also includes different kinds servicing the free time of the population, its cultural and social needs. Here, film production, video and audio business hold the lead in dynamics. various shapes active recreation and, above all, tourism, the share of which in the value of exports of services exceeds 1/3. Tourism occupies a significant place in international relations. About 500 million people annually visit foreign countries for tourism purposes. International tourism is not only a popular form of recreation, but also an actively developing sector of the world economy. However, information on the development of international tourism is not absolutely accurate, since it is quite difficult to measure tourist flows. Due to the lack of a uniform way of recording them, the comparison of statistical data between countries is significantly complicated.

International tourism became worldwide in the 60-70s. On average, about 65% of all international tourist trips occur in Europe, about 20% in America and about 15% in other regions. According to the World Tourism Council, tourism accounted for 10.1% of global GDP and 10.5% of jobs in 2008. The United States received the largest income ($40,579 million). Spending by American tourists abroad was also higher than that of tourists from other countries. The relationship between international tourism expenditure and income varies among countries and regions. Spain has the largest positive balance (+ 14339 million dollars), then France (+ 7761 million dollars), Austria - (+ 6805 million dollars), Italy (+ 5916 million dollars), and the largest negative balance - Japan (- 21350 million dollars) and Germany (- 19153 million dollars).

Other services are characterized by more moderate rates - at the level of average indicators for the service sector or for the entire economy. The dynamics of the transport and trade sectors are quite contradictory. The growth of needs in their operations is constrained by the relative reduction in the share of material products in the economic structure, transportation and sales, which are occupied by these industries. But such features of the “new economy” as the deepening of inter-industry connections in the course of specialization of production, differentiation of demand, disaggregation of enterprises and the transition from economies of scale to economies of variety extremely complicate the composition of the commodity mass and, exacerbating the problem of implementation, increase the role of commodity circulation in the reproduction process .

IN Lately reveals a mixed and growing impact on e-commerce trade. As a result, in some countries the positions of transport and trade in the economy continue to expand, while in others they have stabilized or even declined. Roughly similar dynamics are typical for such large and mature industries as the hotel industry and the auto repair business, the development of which comes down mainly to technical, organizational and structural modernization.

A whole range of services - catering, repair household appliances, clothes, shoes, laundries, dry cleaning - are developing at a relatively low pace. Under the influence of competition from substitute goods and changes in living standards and lifestyles, their share in macroeconomic indicators is declining in most countries. Buying a new and fashionable product is often cheaper and therefore preferable to repairing an old one. Of no small importance is the continuous updating, improvement and expansion of the range of household appliances, chemical products, food, as well as their price advantages, taking into account the convenience and economy of consumption.

Depending on national specifics, the production of services, especially socio-cultural ones, in different countries is distributed between the private and public sectors in different proportions. But in the last 20-30 years, in most countries, growth in services has been concentrated in the private sector. In the public sector, their production volumes were relatively reduced or stabilized in accordance with unconservative programs to reduce government spending and measures to denationalize the economy.

The noted dynamic and structural trends are characteristic of almost all developed countries, although national specifics leave a noticeable imprint on specific indicators. Thus, in the dynamics and structure of services there is a clear shift towards their more complex, knowledge-intensive types and social services that ensure the quality of economic growth, social stability and the humanization of economic life.

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International Trade Methods

In international practice, two main implementation methods export-import operations - trade without intermediaries And trade through intermediaries. Each method has its own advantages and disadvantages.

Direct conclusion of a transaction between the seller and the buyer allows you to save on paying for the services of an intermediary and reduces the risk of losses from possible dishonesty or incompetence. Direct contacts can contribute to better orientation of sellers to the changing requirements of buyers and the introduction of necessary changes in the characteristics of the product, etc. At the same time, firms resorting to direct trade are forced to incur costs for studying and analyzing sales markets, for creating sales centers in other countries networks, for the maintenance of lawyers for the preparation of agreements, transportation and implementation of customs formalities, etc. If the costs of direct trade exceed the benefits from it, it is advisable to resort to the services of intermediaries.

Trade intermediaries can be both legal entities and individuals who, on a commercial basis, carry out the search for foreign partners, preparation of documentation for signing contracts, credit and financial services, transportation, storage, insurance of goods, after-sales service, etc. The participation of intermediaries, first of all, frees manufacturers from the sale of goods, increases the efficiency of sales and, by reducing distribution costs, increases the profitability of foreign economic transactions. Typically, specialized intermediaries respond more quickly to changes in market conditions, which also increases the efficiency of trade.

In the practice of international trade, the following types of intermediary operations are distinguished:

- dealerships, in which an intermediary trading company buys the goods from the manufacturer who resells them, acting on its own behalf and at its own expense, and bears all the risks of loss or destruction of the goods; goods are sold under dealer agreements distributors;

- Commission, in which the reseller sells and buys goods on his own behalf, but at the expense and on behalf of the guarantor, in an agreement with which the technical and commercial conditions of purchase and sale are stipulated and the amount of the commission is determined;

- agency, in which the intermediary acts on behalf of the principal and at his expense; representative agents carry out marketing research, advertising and PR campaigns, organize business contacts with importers, government and other organizations on which the placement of orders depends; agent-attorneys have the right, on the basis of a mandate agreement, to enter into transactions on behalf of the principal;

- brokerage, for which trading companies or individuals bring together sellers and buyers, coordinate their proposals, conclude transactions at the expense of the principal, acting on his behalf and on their own.

A special place among international trade intermediaries is occupied by institutional intermediaries - commodity exchanges, auctions and trades (tenders).

International commodity exchanges are permanent wholesale markets where the purchase and sale of homogeneous goods is carried out with clear and stable quality characteristics, corresponding to the unified standardization system. According to their organizational and legal form, most exchanges are joint stock companies closed type. Depending on the range of goods, exchanges are divided into universal And specialized. The largest in terms of transaction volumes are universal exchanges, where the purchase and sale of a wide range of various goods takes place. For example, on the Chicago Board of Trade exchange (more than 40% of the volume of US agreements) wheat, corn, oats, soybeans, soybean oil, gold, and securities are traded. On specialized exchanges, goods of a narrow range are sold and bought, for example, on the London Stock Exchange metals trade in non-ferrous metals - copper, aluminum, nickel, etc.

Sales of exchange-traded goods are mainly carried out without their delivery to the exchange, using samples or standard descriptions. In fact, on a commodity exchange it is not goods as such that are sold, but contracts for their supply. Transactions with real goods constitute a small share of the total volume of exchange transactions (12%). Depending on the delivery time, they are divided into transactions with immediate delivery (“spot”), when the goods are transferred from the exchange warehouse to the buyer within 15 days after the conclusion of the contract, and transactions involving the supply of goods to specific date in future at the price fixed at the time of conclusion of the contract (forward transactions). The vast majority of exchange transactions are futures transactions. Unlike transactions on real goods, futures contracts provide for the purchase and sale of rights to goods at the price that is set at the time of the transaction between the seller and the buyer (or their brokers) on the exchange.

Exchange futures perform an important function of insuring the risk of losses from changes in prices of real goods - hedging. The hedging mechanism is based on the fact that changes in market prices for real goods and futures are the same in size and direction. Consequently, if one of the parties to the transaction loses as a seller of a real commodity, then he wins as a buyer of a futures contract for the same amount of commodity, and vice versa. Let us assume that the manufacturing company copper wire signed a contract for the supply of a certain quantity in 6 months. She needs 3 months to complete the order. It is unprofitable to purchase copper 6 months before the order is completed: it will be stored in a warehouse for 3 months, which will require storage costs and the payment of additional interest on the loan for its purchase. At the same time, postponing its purchase is also risky, since the market price of copper may rise. Taking this into account, the company buys futures on required amount copper Let the futures quote be 95.2 thousand dollars with the price of a real commodity being 95.0 thousand dollars. After 3 months, copper has risen in price, which also caused an increase in the futures price: the same amount of copper now costs 96.0 thousand dollars, and futures - 96.2 thousand dollars. By buying copper as a real commodity for 96.0 thousand dollars, the company loses 10 thousand dollars. But it sells the futures at 96.2 thousand dollars and thereby wins 10 thousand. dollars. Thus, the company has insured itself against losses due to price increases and will be able to receive the planned profit.

International auctions represent a form of public purchase and sale of goods based on price competition among buyers. The subject of auctions are goods that have distinct individual properties - furs, tea, tobacco, spices, flowers, racehorses, antiques, etc. Preparation for auction sales involves the formation of lots - batches of goods of uniform quality, each of which is assigned a number. Under this number, the lot indicating the characteristics of the product is entered into the auction catalog. General rule of all auctions - the lack of responsibility of the seller for the quality of the goods (the buyer himself sees the goods and knows what he is buying). Auctions are held on a predetermined day and time in a specially equipped room. The auctioneer announces the lot number, its starting price, and buyers make their offers regarding the price. The lot is sold to the highest bidder. The vast majority of auctions are carried out precisely according to this scheme, which is called the “English auction”. In some countries, a price reduction method is used, which is called the “Dutch auction”: the auctioneer announces the highest price of the lot and, if there are no people willing to purchase the goods at this price, begins to gradually reduce her until the item is sold. The most famous are tea auctions in Kolkata (India), Colombo (Sri Lanka), Jakarta (Indonesia), antique auctions - Sotheby's and Christie's in London, fur auctions in Copenhagen (Norway) and St. Petersburg (Russia) .

International trading (tenders) It is also a competitive form of purchase and sale of goods, in which buyers announce a competition for sellers to supply goods with certain technical and economic characteristics. International tenders are the most common way of placing orders for the construction of production and non-production facilities, the supply of machinery and equipment, and the implementation of scientific research and design work, they are also used to select a foreign partner when creating joint venture. All interested companies can take part in open tenders; in closed tenders, only those that have received an invitation to participate, usually these are well-known suppliers or contractors on the world market. Buyers create a tender committee, which includes representatives of the buying organization, as well as technical and commercial experts. After comparing the received proposals, the winner of the auction is determined, who offered the goods on more favorable terms for the buyer and on which the buyer signs the contract.

The most expressive modern trends in the development of international tender trade is an increase in the number of participants, an increase in the number of tenders for the construction of complex facilities, for new types of machinery, equipment, new technologies, engineering and consulting services, a significant reorientation of priorities from price factors to non-price factors (the possibility of obtaining loans on preferential terms, opportunities further placement of orders and long-term cooperation, political factors and etc.).

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International trade in services. Dynamics and structure of international trade in services

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