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free trade

(Encyclopedia)free trade, in modern usage, trade or commerce carried on without such restrictions as import duties, export bounties, domestic production subsidies, trade quotas, or import licenses. The basic argume...

European Free Trade Association

(Encyclopedia)European Free Trade Association (EFTA), customs union and trading bloc; its current members are Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland. EFTA was established in 1960 by Austria, Denmark, Great...

trade

(Encyclopedia)trade, traffic in goods. Conducted by gift, barter, or sale, trade is one of the most widespread of all social institutions. The theory of commerce as imposed by the national state has varied from...

North American Free Trade Agreement

(Encyclopedia)North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), accord establishing a free-trade zone in North America; it was signed in 1992 by Canada, Mexico, and the United States and took effect on Jan. 1, 1994. NAF...

Latin American Free Trade Association

(Encyclopedia)Latin American Free Trade Association: see Latin American Integration Association. ...

free port

(Encyclopedia)free port, port, or section of a port, exempt from customs regulations (see tariff). Goods may be landed at a free port for storage and handling, and they may even be processed into manufactured goods...

reciprocal trade agreement

(Encyclopedia)reciprocal trade agreement, international commercial treaty in which two or more nations grant equally advantageous trade concessions to each other. It usually refers to treaties dealing with tariffs....

balance of trade

(Encyclopedia)balance of trade, relation between the merchandise exports and imports of a country. The concept first became important in the 16th and 17th cent. with the growth of mercantilism. Mercantilist theoris...

fair trade

(Encyclopedia)fair trade, a trading arrangement intended to provide more equitable international trade by creating better conditions for disadvantaged or marginalized producers of goods. Fair trade practices includ...

fur trade

(Encyclopedia)fur trade, in American history. Trade in animal skins and pelts had gone on since antiquity, but reached its height in the wilderness of North America from the 17th to the early 19th cent. The demand ...