Export and Import

Exporting and importing are two aspects of foreign trade.

Exports are goods and services produced in one country but sold in another. Trade in goods is known as visible exports and trade in services is known as invisible exports. Exports are important because they allow a country to earn foreign exchange which can be used for buying imports from abroad.

Imports are those goods and services which are consumed in one country but which have been purchased from another country. Imports of goods such as food, raw materials, or manufactured goods are known as visible imports; imports of services such as insurance, tourism, freight are known as invisible imports.

Imports are paid for by foreign currency earned by exporters, or by borrowing from foreign governments and agencies like the International Monetary Fund.

The balance of trade is the difference between payments for imports and payments for exports.

If exports exceed imports there is a trade surplus or a positive balance of trade. If imports exceed exports there is a trade deficit or a negative balance of trade.

Exercises in Word Study

Ex.1. Form nouns from the following verbs:

earn, purchase, export, import, sell, borrow.

Ex.2. Give the English for:

експорт та імпорт; експорт товарів; невидимий імпорт; заробляти іноземну валюту; купувати товари в іншій країні; сировина; промислові товари; страхування; перевезення вантажів; позичати валюту; міжнародний валютний фонд; надлишок торгового балансу; дефіцит торгового балансу; торговий баланс.

Ex.3. Match words from list A with words from list B that have a similar meaning:

Ex.4. Find suitable opposites to the following words and phrases:

visible exports, to sell; to lend; to waste; important; to ban.

Ex.5. Consult your dictionary and translate the following word combinations into Ukrainian:

Capital export; controlled exports; currency export; duty-free export; food exports; invisible exports; unpaid exports; visible exports.

Consumer imports; dutiable import; free import; merchandise imports; prohibited imports; protected import; token import.

Ex.6. Look at the words and phrases in the box. Match them with the correct definition from the list below:

1. an item, a service, an idea that is sent from one country to another to be sold;

2. an item, a service, an idea that is brought into one country from another;

3. goods, as opposed to services, that are sold to other countries;

4. services such as banking, insurance and tourism that are brought from other countries;

5. an agency of the United Nations that lends money to encourage trade and economic development in poor countries;

6. a situation where a country exports more goods than it imports;

7. condition in which there are more goods imported than exported;

8. the transport of goods by sea or air.