Balance of Trade

briskwolf182 said:Hi everyone, I’m new to the forum; I just happened to stumble upon this thread while browsing... I'm currently studying International Trade (I'm based out of Mexico City) so please, feel free to reach out if you have any specific questions or uncertainties...

Regarding the actual data on trade, if you want the most granular details for individual countries or for global trade as a whole (all denominated in US dollars), your best bet is the World Trade Organization (WTO) website http://www.wto.org/. Beyond that, there are several other heavy hitters like the World Bank (WB) http://www.worldbank.org/, the United Nations http://www.un.org/ http://www.un.org/, and so on... If you're interested, I can certainly dig up more links for various organizations that publish similar datasets focusing on specific product categories.

If there is anything else at all that you're curious about, don't hesitate to ask!! 👍 Best regards

Is the info on this American portal actually accurate regarding the total goods exchange and the services exchange by country?

Based on this, we (in the US) are pretty much at the bottom of the list for the drop in exports and imports since 2008.
In the EU, Greece is doing almost the best (their goods exports are up 19%, while for example Germany is seeing an 8% drop).
Maybe 2008 isn't the best benchmark to use (since Greece had a disastrous trade balance back then while Germany was killing it), so maybe the data looks a bit wonky?

And how on earth did our service exports jump by 417% during that same timeframe?

A balance sheet—much like any fundamental accounting ledger—has to balance out, which means it must hit zero.
If one segment shows a deficit, such as the current account (which tracks the exchange of goods and services with foreign nations), that shortfall necessitates an equal surplus in another area—specifically (fthe financial account).🙂

rustywalker82 said:Is the info on this American portal actually accurate regarding the total goods exchange and the services exchange by country?

Based on this, we (in the US) are pretty much at the bottom of the list for the drop in exports and imports since 2008.
In the EU, Greece is doing almost the best (their goods exports are up 19%, while for example Germany is seeing an 8% drop).
Maybe 2008 isn't the best benchmark to use (since Greece had a disastrous trade balance back then while Germany was killing it), so maybe the data looks a bit wonky?

And how on earth did our service exports jump by 417% during that same timeframe?

The data is almost certainly accurate, primarily because the source appears to be the WTO. As you noted, using the 2008-2012 window isn't exactly a fair way to judge the performance of individual nations or their specific International Trade policies. Why? Because we all know that was the height of the crisis, and different countries felt the impact at wildly different times; furthermore, the recovery didn't kick in simultaneously everywhere. International Trade was undoubtedly one of the main channels through which the crisis spread, so countries whose primary trading partners were hit hardest naturally saw the most dramatic export collapses. Ultimately, everything is relative and depends on a multitude of variables, which means you need a much deeper level of analysis to reach any concrete conclusions about the "why" and the "how."

Regarding services, from what I can see, the index stands at 417.7%, which implies that compared to 2008, service exports have actually grown by 317.7%. Why exactly? I haven't the slightest clue, but regardless, it is 👍 !! My own subjective hunch is that the lion's share of that growth is tied to tourism. If we factor in the crisis again, I suspect a massive wave of European travelers decided to vacation within Europe rather than traveling "somewhere far away," and since you happen to have the most beautiful coastline (yet another purely subjective opinion of mine 😁 ), I'll let you draw your own conclusion... 🙂

briskwolf182 said:The data is almost certainly accurate, primarily because the source appears to be the WTO. As you noted, using the 2008-2012 window isn't exactly a fair way to judge the performance of individual nations or their specific International Trade policies. Why? Because we all know that was the height of the crisis, and different countries felt the impact at wildly different times; furthermore, the recovery didn't kick in simultaneously everywhere. International Trade was undoubtedly one of the main channels through which the crisis spread, so countries whose primary trading partners were hit hardest naturally saw the most dramatic export collapses. Ultimately, everything is relative and depends on a multitude of variables, which means you need a much deeper level of analysis to reach any concrete conclusions about the "why" and the "how."

Regarding services, from what I can see, the index stands at 417.7%, which implies that compared to 2008, service exports have actually grown by 317.7%. Why exactly? I haven't the slightest clue, but regardless, it is 👍 !! My own subjective hunch is that the lion's share of that growth is tied to tourism. If we factor in the crisis again, I suspect a massive wave of European travelers decided to vacation within Europe rather than traveling "somewhere far away," and since you happen to have the most beautiful coastline (yet another purely subjective opinion of mine 😁 ), I'll let you draw your own conclusion... 🙂

I think our tourism revenue in Q3 2008 was closer to €4,612 million, not €1,629 million.

Thanks for the replies.
If anyone wants a shoutout or whatever, just let me know. I'm based in Los Angeles, working as a private entrepreneur.🙂

Statistical Overview: Annual Foreign Economic Relations regarding the Balance of Trade for goods and services

http://www.federalreserve.gov/index.html ☕

rustywalker82 said:I think our tourism revenue in Q3 2008 was closer to €4,612 million, not €1,629 million.

Thanks for the replies.
If anyone wants a shoutout or whatever, just let me know. I'm based in Los Angeles, working as a private entrepreneur.🙂

Don't mention it! Unfortunately, I don't know anyone from Chicago worth sending greetings to... 🙂

The latest report from the Bureau of Statistics indicates some financially positive multi-year trends within the agricultural sector.

Unfortunately, the most optimistic indices (check the full report on the DZS website) are tied to raw materials—specifically livestock and unprocessed grains. This clearly highlights the weakness of our domestic manufacturing sector when it comes to actually processing and adding value to the raw farm output we're provided.

Given the noticeable discrepancy between agriculture's share of the national GDP and our export figures, I interpret this as a sign of strong domestic consumption. It further underscores just how vital agriculture remains for the stability of our national economy and food security.

Looks like agriculture and tourism are basically the only things keeping this economy breathing. Once they roll out those seasonal vouchers, the whole thing might actually bloom—especially the state treasury.
Maybe if the state actually gave a damn about our Slavonia, they’d see a massive return on that investment, but no. They’d rather just keep throwing money at these long-term infrastructure projects that'll probably never pay off.

If you ask me, the reason Slavonia and its farms are struggling is because of all these career politicians who don't even live around here. And the ones they install to pretend they care? They can't move a finger without permission from the top.

I'm looking at this guy Jakovina right now, bragging about pouring maybe twenty million dollars into Slavonia order, while Čačonja (pipi) and his crew are planning to dump billions into projects over in Istria, Chicago, and the coastal regions.

It honestly makes me sick. It’s enough to make anyone want to just pack it all in and say screw both America and the Americans.

Let’s be real: there is a massive lack of entrepreneurial spirit in America. I was scrolling through another forum the other day and read this post about an American living over in Australia who decided to go all out—he tried planting absolutely everything he could find, every single type of traditional fruit and vegetable they used to grow back in America. You just don't see that kind of drive here.

darkmoose5 said:Let’s be real: there is a massive lack of entrepreneurial spirit in America. I was scrolling through another forum the other day and read this post about an American living over in Australia who decided to go all out—he tried planting absolutely everything he could find, every single type of traditional fruit and vegetable they used to grow back in America. You just don't see that kind of drive here.

I know a guy who wanted to move back after 30 years to start a business in America, but he gave up almost immediately. He realized that in three decades, absolutely nothing has changed in our "beautiful homeland." It’s still the same people in power, and even worse, it's that exact same communist mindset that drove him away in the first place.

darkmoose5 said:Let’s be real: there is a massive lack of entrepreneurial spirit in America. I was scrolling through another forum the other day and read this post about an American living over in Australia who decided to go all out—he tried planting absolutely everything he could find, every single type of traditional fruit and vegetable they used to grow back in America. You just don't see that kind of drive here.

Look, we can't even figure out how to brand our own villages. Take places in California or Slavonia—they have such a unique vibe you won't find anywhere else in Europe, yet we've completely failed to capitalize on it. I actually dig what Skoro did over at the Star Kapela ethno-village. Villages like the ones in this video are classic Slavonia, but the Republic of America still hasn't figured out how to market them as high-end destinations for people to actually spend their time and money.

If I'm not mistaken, those houses date all the way back to the World War II era.

darkmoose5 said:If I'm not mistaken, those houses date all the way back to the World War II era.

Well, even the dome of the Florence Cathedral wasn't actually finished until the 20th century.☕

hollowpilot13 said:Well, even the dome of the Florence Cathedral wasn't actually finished until the 20th century.☕

Look, homeowners have until June 30th to legalize their properties and cough up those 20 $0.00, and that’s the first hurdle—getting the money together. But seriously, where is everyone supposed to find that kind of cash?😢

Dennis Jackson16 said:Looks like agriculture and tourism are basically the only things keeping this economy breathing. Once they roll out those seasonal vouchers, the whole thing might actually bloom—especially the state treasury.
Maybe if the state actually gave a damn about our Slavonia, they’d see a massive return on that investment, but no. They’d rather just keep throwing money at these long-term infrastructure projects that'll probably never pay off.

If you ask me, the reason Slavonia and its farms are struggling is because of all these career politicians who don't even live around here. And the ones they install to pretend they care? They can't move a finger without permission from the top.

I'm looking at this guy Jakovina right now, bragging about pouring maybe twenty million dollars into Slavonia order, while Čačonja (pipi) and his crew are planning to dump billions into projects over in Istria, Chicago, and the coastal regions.

It honestly makes me sick. It’s enough to make anyone want to just pack it all in and say screw both America and the Americans.

I couldn't agree more. It’s high time we finally get some actual representation from Slavonia in the Government, because frankly, they're the only ones with the right mindset and values. I mean, seriously, how can you take someone from a rocky, coastal area and expect them to make decisions for Slavonia? They don't have a clue what life is actually like around here!

darkmoose5 said:Look, homeowners have until June 30th to legalize their properties and cough up those 20 $0.00, and that’s the first hurdle—getting the money together. But seriously, where is everyone supposed to find that kind of cash?😢

Honey, don't tell me you actually started building without a permit?😁 You can vent your frustrations here, I'm listening.😁