CBSE Class 12 Geography International Trade Assignment

- Exchange of goods and services among countries across national boundaries is international trade
- Initial form of trade is barter system

History of international trade
- In ancient times-trade was restricted to local markets [ transporting goods over long distances was risky]
- Silk route- Rome to china-transport of Chinese silk, roman wool and precious metals. Goods also collected from India, Persia and central Asia
- 15th century- European colonialism gave a new form of trade- slave trade
- After industrial revolution-industrialised nations imported raw materials and exported finished products to on industrialized nations
- Later half of 19 century-industrial nations became each other’s principle customers

Why does international trade exists?
- Result of specialization in production

Basis of international trade

1. Difference in national resources
- National resources are unevenly distributed because of differences in geology, relief, soil and climate
- Geology determines the mineral resource base and topographical differences ensure diversity of crops and animals raised
- Climate influences the type of flora and fauna in a given region

2. Population factors
- Distinctive forms of art and craft develop in certain cultures which are valued world over
- Eg porcelains from china, carpets of Iran
- Densely populated countries have large volume of internal trade but little external trade
- Standard of living of the population determines the demand for better quality imported products

3. Stage of economic development
- Stage of economic development influence the nature of items traded
- In agriculturally important countries agro products are exchanged for manufactured goods
- Industrialised nations export machinery and finished products and import food grains and other raw materials

4. Extent of foreign investment
- It boost trade in developing countries which lack in capital
- They develop capital intensive industries like mining, oil drilling, plantation agriculture etc
- The industrial nations ensure import of food stuffs and minerals and create markets for their finished products

5. Transport
Expansion of rail, ocean and air transport, better means of refrigeration and preservation trade has experienced spatial expansion

Important aspects of international trade

1. Volume of trade
- The total value of goods and services traded is called the volume of trade

2. Composition of trade
- The nature of goods and services imported and exported by countries have undergone changes
- Beginning of last century- trade of primary products was predominant
- Later manufactured goods gained prominence
- Currently services have been showing an upward trend

3. Direction of trade
- The developing countries of the present used to export valuable goods and artefacts etc to European countries
- 19th century-reversal in the direction of trade
- European countries started exporting manufactured goods for exchange of food stuffs and raw materials from their colonies. Europe and USA emerged as major trade partners. The third important trading country was Japan
- Second half of 20th century-drastic change in trade pattern
- Europe lost its colonies, while India china and other developing countries started competing with developed countries

Balance of trade
- The difference between the volume of goods and services imported as well as exported by a country to other countries
- Negative/ unfavourable balance of trade= import value> export value
- Positive/favourable= export value> import value
- Negative balance- country spends more on buying goods than it can earn by selling its goods. This would ultimately lead to exhaustion of its financial reserves

Types of international trade
2 types

Bilateral trade
Trade done by two countries with each other. The countries enter into agreement to trade specified commodities amongst them

Multilateral trade
Trade conducted with many trading countries. The same country can trade with a number of other countries

Free Trade
- The act of opening up economies for trading is known as free trade or trade liberalization
- The trade barriers like tariffs is brought down for free trade
- Trade liberalization allows goods and services from everywhere to compete with domestic products and services

Dumping
- The practice of selling a commodity in two countries at a price that differs for reasons not related to costs is called dumping

World trade organisation
- 1948- GATT[General Agreement for Tariffs and Trade] formed
- Aim- to liberalise the world from high customs tariff and various other types of restrictions
- 1994- decision to set up a permanenet institution for looking after the promotion of free and fair trade amongst nation
- GATT- transformed to WTO-on 1st January 1995

World Trade Organisation
- It is the only international organisation dealing with the global rules of trade between nations
- It sets the rules for the global trading system
- It resolves disputes between its member nations
- It also covers trade in services such as telecommunication and banking and issues llike intellectual rights

WTO-Criticisms
- Free trade widening the gulf between rich and poor[influential nations in the WTO focus on their own commercial interests]
- Developed countries have not fully opened their markets to products from developing countries
- Issues of health, worker’s rights child labour and environment are ignored

Regional trade blocs

- Emergence of trade blocs- reasons
a. Failure of the global organisations to speed up intra regional trade
b. To encourage trade between countries with geographical proximity, similarity and complementarities in trading items
c. To curb restrictions on trade of the developing world
- 120 regional trade blocs generate 52% of the world trade

International trade-advantages
1. Regional specialization
2. Higher level of production
3. Better standard of living
4. World wide availability of goods and services
5. Equalization of prices and wages
6. Diffusion of knowledge and culture

International trade-disadvantages
1. Dependence on other countries
2. Uneven levels of development
3. Exploitation of resources
4. Commercial rivalry leading to wars
5. Create more pollution
6. Health concerns not addressed

Gateways of international trade
Cargoes and travelers pass from one part of the world to another through ports. So they are called gateways of international trade
Facilities provided by ports
1. Docking[structure for handling ships]
2. Loading and unloading
3. Storage facilities for cargo
4. Maintenance of navigable channels
5. Arranging tugs[a boat that move vessels that cannot move themselves alone] and barges[ flat bottom boat built mainly for river and canal transport of heavy goods]
6. Labour and managerial services

Types of port

1. On the basis of the type of traffic handled- 3 types
Industrial ports
- These ports specialize in bulk cargo[transported unpacked in large quantities]
- Eg- grains, ore
Commercial ports
- Handle general cargo, packaged products and manufactured good[boxes, bales, barrels]
- Also handle passenger traffic
Comprehensive ports
- Handle bulk and general cargo

2. On the basis of location- 2 types
Inland ports
- Located away from sea coast
- Linked to the sea through a river or canal
- Eg-kolkata on river hugli
Outports
- These are deep water ports built away from the actual ports
- Serve parent ports by receiving large sized ships unable to reach them
- Eg- Athens- outport- Piraeus

3. On the basis of functions-5 types

Oilports
- Deal in the processing and shipping of oil
- Some are tanker ports and some are refinery ports

Ports of call
- These are ports which originally developed as calling points on main sea routes for refueling, watering and taking food item
- Eg Singapore

Packet station
- Also called ferry ports
- Concerned with the transportation of passengers and mail across water bodies covering short distances
- Eg-Dover in England and Calais in France across English channel

Entrepot ports
- These are collection centres where the goods are brought from different countries for export
- Eg Singapore

Naval ports
- These are ports which have only strategic importance
- These ports serve warships and have repair workshops for them
- Eg kochi

Question. What is barter system?
Answer. Initial form of trade is barter system. A commodity is exchanged for another commodity

Question. What is international trade?
Answer. Exchange of goods and services among countries across national boundaries is international trade

Question. What was the initial form of trade in the primitive society?
Answer. Initial form of trade is barter system

Question. What form of trade is depicted in the figure

Answer. Barter

Question. Where does this mela take place?
Answer. Jagirod 35 km from Guwahati

Question. Name the type of trade shown in the above advertisement. Also write the name of the continent where it was prevalent.
Answer. Slave trade. It was prevalent in Africa

Question.When did slave trade emerge in the world
Answer. 15th century

Question. In which year slave trade was abolished in Denmark, Great Britain and USA
Answer. It was abolished in Denmark in 1792, Great Britain in 1807 and United States in 1808.

Question. How is the difference in national resources a basis of international trade? Explain with three examples.
Difference in national resources
Answer. 
- National resources are unevenly distributed because of differences in geology, relief, soil and climate
- Geology determines the mineral resource base
- topographical differences ensure diversity of crops and animals raised
- Climate influences the type of flora and fauna in a given region

Question. What are the important aspects of international trade?
Answer. Volume of trade
- The total value of goods and services traded is called the volume of trade
Composition of trade
- The nature of goods and services imported and exported by countries have undergone changes
- Beginning of last century- trade of primary products was predominant
- Later manufactured goods gained prominence
- Currently services have been showing an upward trend
Direction of trade
- The developing countries of the present used to export valuable goods and artefacts etc to European countries
- 19th century-reversal in the direction of trade
- European countries started exporting manufactured goods for exchange of food stuffs and raw materials from their colonies. Europe and USA emerged as major trade partners. The third important trading country was Japan
- Second half of 20th century-drastic change in trade pattern
- Europe lost its colonies, while India china and other developing countries started competing with developed countries

Question. What is it detrimental for a nation to have negative balance of payments?
Answer. Negative balance- country spends more on buying goods than it can earn by selling its goods. This would ultimately lead to exhaustion of its financial reserves

Question. What is free trade?
Answer. The act of opening up economies for trading is known as free trade or trade liberalization

Question. What is dumping?
Answer. The practice of selling a commodity in two countries at a price that differs for reasons not related to costs is called dumping

Question. Where is the headquarters of WTO located?
Answer. Geneva Switzerland

Question. W.T.O. is often criticized for widening the Gap between developed and developing countries. Examine critically.
Answer. 
- Free trade widening the gulf between rich and poor[influential nations in the WTO focus on their own commercial interests]
- Developed countries have not fully opened their markets to products from developing countries
- Issues of health, worker’s rights child labour and environment are ignored

Question. Name the regional trade bloc of which India is a member.
Answer. SAFTA

Question. Where is the headquarters of ASEAN situated?
Answer. Jakarta, Indonesia

Question. Which are the two types of ports based on location? Write any two features of each type of port.
Answer. On the basis of location- 2 types
Inland ports
- Located away from sea coast
- Linked to the sea through a river or canal
- Eg-kolkata on river hugli
Outports
- These are deep water ports built away from the actual ports
- Serve parent ports by receiving large sized ships unable to reach them
- Eg- Athens- outport- Piraeus

Question. Match the following
Answer. List I- inland ports, out ports, oil ports, ports of call, packet stations, entrepot ports, naval ports
List II- kochi, Rotterdam, Calais, Aden, Tripoli, Athens, Memphis
List I                     List II
Inland ports           Memphis
Out ports              Athens
Oil ports                Tripoli
Ports of call           Aden
Packet station       Calais
Entrepot ports        Rotterdam
Naval ports            Kochi

Click on link below to download CBSE Class 12 Geography International Trade Assignment