Some of the economic policies drawn toward international relation include some of the decisions made toward trade relation that determines the physical aspects of the global business such as the costs of production and the price ranges of the final products.

 When importing or exporting goods, the learning of how these policies affect trade data movement is important to businesses. To the small shop owner or the logistician working for a large company, knowledge of these policies will assist in decision making.

What Are Trade Policies?

In their most basic sense, trade policies are specific policies that are set and administered by governments that determine how products should be traded across national borders. Tariffs mean special taxes for import and export; quotas means restriction on the amount of imports; trade agreements mean rules of functioning for imports and exports. The change in these policies can bring lots of changes in the market that affects the way business are conducted.

The Rise and Fall of Tariffs

An easier way to see how trade policies affects import and export is through tariffs which is a tax imposed on imports. For instance, if a country decides to crowded high tariffs on the imported steel, the interested business will have to pay high prices for the materials. Consider for instance a small construction firm that buys steel for constructing houses. In the event where we are encountering increased tariffs in the price of steel, it might become necessary for the company to up its prices. This could result into a reduced consumers’ patronage because they will be served cheaper goods or services.

On the other hand, if a country for instance reduces tariffs applied to a particular product, it means that more of that product will be imported. Take for example a tech gadget importer; most of the components used in the gadgets may be imported. Lower tariffs for those components make their purchase cheaper, which can be an opportunity to reduce costs and increase prices, to increase sales, and overcome competition in the market.

Trade Agreements: Opportunities and Challenges

It is also worth mentioning that international trade agreements not only led to the fluctuation in import and export data. They are usually used to open borders to fully remove or reduce the level of tariffs that exist between members. For example, whenever the government of two nations agrees on a free trade policy; customers can easily and affordantly import goods from the other nation.

For instance, a clothing maker from the United States agrees with a factory in Mexico. A new trade agreement might be lessening the level of tariffs of clothing imports so the manufacturer can afford to sell fashionable affordable clothes to the US market. This change may push up sales and actual business volume because consumers gain more options and pay less for chosen products.

Nevertheless, trade agreements do not always lead to the creation of opportunities. Some of local industries might be forced to close shop because imports will be cheaper to acquire. A local shoe factory would be at a disadvantage, if it needs to compete with shoes imported from another country at cheaper prices. It can result in eliminating certain professions and economic stress in some industries, which eventually influences trade statistics on overall upturn in some sectors or its decline in others.

Quotas: Restricting Trade Flow

Quotas can also be the means that affects the import/export flow intensity. They are policies provided by government on the quantity of a particular product that can be imported into a country. For instance if a country sets a tariff on imported sugar it means that industries that use the product in their production will be able to source for this input in small quantities at a higher price.

Let’s consider a candy store which sells candies and initially imports only sugar. The shop will have to pay high prices for the commodity if the government of the country decides to place a ban on the importation of sugar. This may cause the shop to either raise the price it sells its products to customers or bring down its production rate, both considered to affect sales and hence revenue. On the other hand, traditional domestic producers of sugar may stand to gain through reduced pressures that trigger enhanced production activities for sale.

Economic risk is uncertainty in the economy which results in volatile market leading to changes in the supply chain.

Moreover, other factors such as Tariffs, quotas or trade agreements; economical instability will also affect the imports and exports. Sudden changes in trade policies result in market shocks that give negative impacts on the supply chain. For example, an abrupt change of the nature of relations between two countries makes uncertainty for import-dependent enterprises.

Let it be about a small electronics’ shop that buys components in a politically instable country. If trade policies should at some point close down access to those parts, then this can be a problem for the retailer in terms of inventory fluctuation. It may be evident to customers to stock depletion and longer periods of time to receive some of the most ordered products. Such disruption is capable of reducing the number of customers, so making the required changes will have an impact on the retailer’s image.

 Conclusion

These trends of import and export are highly influenced by trade policies, and the effect is vast and varied. There is no single area of trade that is not influenced by these factors – tariffs and quotas, trade agreements, economic insecurity and so on.

Thus, for businesses there is still considerable value in the ability to stay abreast and be prepared for these changes. Fortunately for those in the trading business, Siomex and other similar import and export databases can assist you in understanding the many factors surrounding trade, providing you with the necessary information to make sensible choices.. It’s not just about the numbers: comprehending these trends will enable us to build a more successful.