Chapter
9
Application: International
Trade
Analyzing the Impact of Trade
• Compare
– Market without trade – “closed economy”
– Market where international trade is
permitted – “open economy”
• Examine
– Equilibrium price/quantity before/after
– Consumer/producer surplus before/after
– Determine which group benefits and how;
and which group “loses”
2
Analyzing the Impact of Trade
Impact of Tariffs and Quotas
• Compare
– Market without tariffs – “free trade”
– Market with tariffs (taxes on imports) or
quotas
• Examine
– Equilibrium price/quantity before/after
– Consumer/producer surplus before/after
– Determine which group benefits and how;
and which group “loses”
3
The Determinants of Trade
• The equilibrium without trade
– Only domestic buyers and sellers
• Produced here/consumed here
– Equilibrium price and quantity
• Determined on the domestic market
– Total benefits
• Consumer surplus
• Producer surplus
4
Figure 1
The equilibrium without international trade
Price of
textiles
Domestic
Supply
Consumer
surplus
Equilibrium
price Producer
surplus
Domestic
Demand
0
Equilibrium
quantity
Quantity of textiles
When an economy cannot trade in world markets, the price adjusts to balance domestic
supply and demand. This figure shows consumer and producer surplus in an equilibrium
without international trade for the textile market in the imaginary country of Isoland.
5
The Determinants of Trade
• Allow for international trade? Questions to
ask:
– What happens to price and quantity sold – in
the domestic market? (With and without
trade)
– Who will gain from free trade; who will lose,
and will the gains exceed the losses?
– Should a tariff be part of the new trade
policy?
6
The Determinants of Trade
• The world price and comparative advantage
• World price
– Price of a good that prevails in the world
market for that good
• Assume US consumers relatively small part of
world market -> do not affect the world price
• Domestic price
– Opportunity cost of the good to domestic
market (US producers or US consumers)
7
The Determinants of Trade
• The world price and comparative advantage
• Compare domestic price with world price
– Determine who has comparative advantage
– If domestic price < world price
• Export the good
• Country – has comparative advantage
– If domestic price > world price
• Import the good
• World – comparative advantage
8
The Winners and Losers From Trade
• The gains and losses of an exporting country
– domestic equilibrium price before trade is
below world price
– Once trade is allowed
• Domestic price rises to = world price
• Domestic quantity supplied > domestic quantity
demanded
• The difference = exports
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Figure 2
International trade in an exporting country
Price of
textiles
Domestic
Supply
Exports
A
Price
after
trade
D
B
Price
before
trade
World
Price
C
Domestic
Demand
Exports
0
Domestic
Quantity
Demanded
Consumer Surplus
Producer Surplus
Total Surplus
Domestic
Quantity
Supplied
Once trade is allowed, the domestic price rises to
equal the world price. The supply curve shows
the quantity of textiles produced domestically,
and the demand curve shows the quantity
consumed domestically. Exports from Isoland
equal the difference between the domestic
quantity supplied and the domestic quantity
demanded at the world price. Sellers are better
off (producer surplus rises from C to B + C + D),
and buyers are worse off (consumer surplus falls
from A + B to A). Total surplus rises by an
amount equal to area D, indicating that trade
raises the economic well-being of the country as
a whole.
Quantity of textiles
Before trade
After trade
Change
A+B
C
A+B+C
A
B+C+D
A+B+C+D
-B
+(B+D)
+D
The area D shows
the increase in total
surplus and
represents the
gains from trade
10
The Winners and Losers From Trade
• The gains and losses of an importing country
– domestic equilibrium price before trade
above world price
– Once trade is allowed
• Domestic price drops to = world price
• Domestic quantity supplied < domestic quantity
demanded
• The difference = imports
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Figure 3
International trade in an importing country
Price of
textiles
Domestic
Supply
A
Price
before
trade
B
Price
after
trade
D
World
Price
C
Domestic
Demand
Imports
0
Domestic
Quantity
Supplied
Consumer Surplus
Producer Surplus
Total Surplus
Once trade is allowed, the domestic price falls to
equal the world price. The supply curve shows
the amount produced domestically, and the
demand curve shows the amount consumed
domestically. Imports equal the difference
between the domestic quantity demanded and
the domestic quantity supplied at the world price.
Buyers are better off (consumer surplus rises
from A to A + B + D), and sellers are worse off
(producer surplus falls from B + C to C). Total
surplus rises by an amount equal to area D,
indicating that trade raises the economic wellbeing of the country as a whole
Domestic Quantity of textiles
Quantity
Demanded
Before trade
After trade
Change
A
B+C
A+B+C
A+B+D
C
A+B+C+D
+(B+D)
-B
+D
The area D shows
the increase in total
surplus and
represents the
gains from trade
12
The Winners and Losers From Trade
• The effects of a tariff
• Tariff
– Tax on goods produced abroad (foreign
producers) and sold domestically
• Free trade
– Domestic price = world price
• Tariff on imports
– Raises domestic price above world price
• By the amount of the tariff (just like a tax)
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Figure 4
The effects of a tariff
Price of textiles
Domestic
Supply
A
Tariff
B
Price with tariff
C
Price without
tariff
G
0
E
D
F
World Price
Imports
with tariff
Q1S
Q2S
A tariff reduces the quantity of
imports and moves a market closer
to the equilibrium that would exist
without trade. Total surplus falls by
an amount equal to area D + F.
These two triangles represent the
deadweight loss from the tariff.
Domestic
Demand
Q2D Q1D
Quantity of textiles
Imports without tariff
Consumer Surplus
Producer Surplus
Government Revenue
Total Surplus
Before tariff
After tariff
Change
A+B+C+D+E+F
G
None
A+B+C+D+E+F+G
A+B
C+G
E
A+B+C+E+G
-(C+D+E+F)
+C
+E
-(D+F)
The area D + F
shows the fall in
total surplus and
represents the
deadweight loss of
the tariff
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The Winners and Losers From Trade
• The effects of a tariff
– Price – rises by the amount of the tariff
– Domestic quantity demanded – decrease
– Domestic quantity supplied – increase
– Reduces the quantity of imports
– Moves the domestic market closer to its
equilibrium without trade
– Domestic sellers – better off
– Domestic buyers – worse off
15
The Arguments For Restricting Trade
• The jobs argument
– “Trade with other countries destroys
domestic jobs”
– Free trade creates jobs at the same time that
it destroys them
• The national-security argument
– “The industry is vital for national security”
– When there are legitimate concerns over
national security
16
The Arguments For Restricting Trade
• The unfair-competition argument
– “Free trade is desirable only if all countries
play by the same rules”
– Increase in total surplus for the country
• The protection-as-a-bargaining-chip
argument
– “Trade restrictions can be useful when we
bargain with our trading partners”
– The threat may not work
17
Trade agreements and the World
Trade Organization
• Multilateral approach to achieve free trade
– Reduce its trade restrictions while other countries
do the same
– Bargain with its trading partners in an attempt to
reduce trade restrictions around the world
– North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)
• 1993 - lowered trade barriers among the United States,
Mexico, and Canada
– General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT)
• Continuing series of negotiations among many of the
world’s countries with the goal of promoting free trade
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