Foreign trade turnover

The total value of export and import operations of an individual state or several countries for a certain period.

For the collection of statistical data on external trade operations, the VO assessment is very important, since on its basis the following are calculated in the future:

trade balance;
average prices;
efficiency of foreign trade operations in general and other significant parameters.

Foreign trade turnover is closely related to the concept of foreign trade.

What is foreign trade

Trade relations of one state with other countries, including import operations (import) and export operations (export) of goods, are called foreign trade. This term applies exclusively to individual countries.

Foreign trade helps:

receive additional income from the sale of the national product abroad;
saturate the internal market of the state;
increase labor productivity;
cope with resource constraints domestically.

Taken together, foreign trade transactions of different states form world (international) trade.

International trade is the oldest form of economic relations between states, which has a huge impact on the development of the world economy as a whole.

How is foreign trade turnover calculated

So, the basic concepts of foreign trade are exports and imports.

Export is the total volume of goods produced in a country that is exported from it for a certain period of time.
Import - a set of goods produced outside a certain state and imported into it for a certain period.

Export and import transactions are recorded the moment the goods cross the border. They are displayed in foreign economic and customs statistics. The export operation of the state-seller corresponds to the import operation of the state-buyer.

As a rule, exports are recorded at FOB prices (free of board). In international trade relations, this means that the price of goods includes the costs of transportation on board an international vessel or other transport and insurance until the completion of loading.

Imports are accounted for at CIF prices (cost, insurance, freight). This means that the price of the goods includes the costs of transportation and insurance, customs duties to the buyer's port of shipment. That is, all these costs are borne by the seller.

The formula for the total volume of foreign trade turnover is as follows:

VO = Import of goods + Export of goods

The VO of the country is calculated in monetary units, since different goods cannot be compared in physical terms, for example, in tons, liters or meters.

How the balance of foreign trade turnover is calculated

The balance of foreign trade turnover is also a significant concept for assessing the economy of a country. You can calculate it using the following formula:

Balance VO = Export of goods - import of goods

The balance of foreign trade turnover can be either positive or negative. The positive balance of the VO (the state sells more than it buys) indicates the growth of the economy. On the contrary, the negative balance suggests that the market is oversaturated with imported goods, and the interests of the domestic producer may be infringed upon.

World foreign trade turnover

World trade turnover is the aggregate of exports of all countries, which is expressed in US dollars.

The participation of this or that state in world trade is reflected by such indicators as the export and import quota.

Export quota is the ratio of export transactions to gross domestic product (GDP). This indicator makes it possible to understand what part of goods and services produced within the state is sold on the international market.
Import quota is the ratio of import operations to the volume of domestic consumption of state products. Shows the share of goods imported into the country in domestic consumption.

Statistical data on world foreign trade turnover are collected, summarized and systematized. For this, international nomenclatures were developed (they are taken into account in the course of building national foreign trade classifications).

TEST

By discipline: "Foreign economic activity"

Topic: "Foreign trade turnover of the Russian Federation - structure, characteristic features"

Bibliography

1. Foreign trade turnover of Russia: main methodological aspects

Foreign trade turnover is the total value of exports and imports, it is the sum of the values of exports and imports of a country or group of countries for a certain period: month, quarter, year.

Foreign trade statistics characterize the volume of exports and imports of goods, their dynamics, geographical distribution, commodity composition, participation in world trade, as well as its importance in the country's economy.

Goods subject to customs processing in the world statistical practice are classified as visible goods. Foreign trade statistics "visible goods" is part of statistics of foreign economic relations, which, in addition to accounting for the export and import of the above goods, also records other operations, for example, foreign trade in services.

Export refers to the export of goods from the country. domestic production as well as re-exported goods.

Domestic goods also include goods of foreign origin imported into the country and subjected to significant processing that changes the basic quality or technical characteristics of the goods.

Operations that are not related to processing:

operations necessary to ensure the safety of the goods during storage or transportation;

operations for the pre-sale preparation of goods and their preparation for transportation, i.e. batch splitting, formation of shipments, sorting and repackaging;

simple assembly operations;

mixing of goods (components) produced by other enterprises, provided that the characteristics of the product received does not differ significantly from the characteristics of the goods (components) included in it.

Import refers to the importation of goods into a country. Imports include imported goods intended for consumption in the country's economy, for re-export, and goods purchased for domestic organizations abroad for local consumption.

Exports (imports) include goods, the export (import) of which reduces or increases the material resources of the country, including:

non-monetary gold and silver that does not act as a legal tender;

goods supplied against contributions to the Fund technical assistance UN, as gifts, gratuitous aid, etc .;

military goods;

Electric Energy, water, supply of goods through pipelines (oil, gas);

bunker fuel, fuel, food and materials sold for foreign ships, aircraft and trucks and accordingly purchased for domestic ships, aircraft and trucks abroad;

re-export goods with delivery to the country;

catch of fish and other sea products sold (purchased in neutral and foreign waters (on the terms of a concession agreement concluded by the state for the operation of industrial enterprises, land, etc.);

securities, banknotes and coins not in circulation (accounted for at their commercial value);

goods exported (imported) for the purpose of their processing;

goods purchased under contracts of organizations of a given country carrying out export-import operations for consumption by organizations abroad and, accordingly, goods sold under contracts for consumption by foreign organizations in the country;

Not included in export (import):

monetary gold;

securities, banknotes and coins in circulation;

transit of foreign goods through the territory of the country;

re-export goods without import into the country;

goods exported and, accordingly, imported temporarily, temporary export and import of animals for participation in races, races, etc .;

the catch of fish and other sea products, which was made in neutral and foreign waters (on a concession basis);

personal luggage of passengers, items (business and personal) intended for embassies, diplomatic missions, consulates, trade missions and other organizations abroad;

vehicles and equipment sent for repair and returned after repair;

goods manufactured for export, but sold to domestic organizations using their own foreign exchange funds;

services of a tangible and intangible nature;

goods sold (bought) within the country by joint ventures and organizations;

Accounting for exports and imports of goods by water, rail, road, air transport is carried out:

for export - by the date of permission for release across the border, put on the stamp of the cargo customs declaration by the territorial customs;

for import - by the date of the customs clearance on the cargo customs declaration for the release of goods for domestic consumption;

the date of export or import of goods supplied by pipeline transport, as well as electricity, is the date of the acceptance certificate drawn up at the border or other control and distribution points of the pipeline or electric pipeline;

goods purchased abroad and handed over to their organizations for consumption on the spot are counted in imports at the time of transfer of ownership, drawn up by an acceptance certificate;

goods sent and received on consignment, as well as to rented warehouses, fairs, exhibitions and showrooms, are counted for export or import after their sale or purchase;

when sending goods by mail - by the date of the postal receipt.

Evaluation of goods is carried out at the prices of contracts with subsequent clarification at the actual prices. The cost of goods sold through commission agents (brokers) is shown with a decrease in the amount of the brokerage commission.

Accounting for the export and import of goods is made:

exported - at FOB or free-border prices of the exporting country;

imported - at CIF or free-border prices of the importing country.

FOB (free on board) is a condition for the sale of goods, according to which the price of the goods includes its cost and the costs of delivery and loading of the goods on board the vessel.

CIF (cost, insurance, freight) is a condition for the sale of a product, according to which the price of a product includes its cost and the cost of insurance and transportation of the product (to the border of the importer's country).

Delivery of goods can be carried out without payment. In such cases, the assessment of exports (imports) of goods is carried out at the prices of goods in the markets of the respective countries or at prices for goods of the same name, at which export-import operations are carried out on a commercial basis. In order to improve the statistical accounting of the results of foreign economic activity and increase the degree of its reliability, ensure the comparability of the relevant statistical indicators at the international level and ensure information obligations to international organizations, it is recommended to record export-import transactions and compile statistical reports on foreign economic relations from January 1, 1992 in US dollars.

For the purposes of international comparability, it is recommended to use weight units as widely as possible, along with a specific unit of measurement. This makes it possible, with significant differences in the units of measurement used in different countries for the same goods, to obtain uniform quantitative information.

Goods for which weights are measured are accounted for by net weight.

The Commodity Nomenclature of Foreign Economic Activity (TN VED) is used as a classifier of goods circulating in foreign trade.

The commodity nomenclature of foreign economic activity is based on the six-digit Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System (HS) and the eight-digit combined nomenclature of the European Economic Community (EU CN), which is a detailed HS nomenclature for the EU countries.

Transactions accounted for separately include foreign economic activity for the export and import of services, both tangible and intangible, including services for the development of technical documentation and other engineering and technical work (services) related to complete equipment and construction products.

In accordance with the decree of the Government of the Russian Federation, the collection, development and publication of data on foreign trade is carried out, as in many countries of the world, by the State Customs Committee of Russia on the basis of information contained in cargo customs declarations (CCD).

Cargo customs declarations are submitted by all participants in foreign economic relations, there are some exceptions for individuals, which boil down to the following: cargo customs declarations are not drawn up for goods imported by individuals worth up to 10 thousand dollars and weighing up to 200 kg, but at the same time goods worth up to 1 thousand dollars and weighing up to 50 kg are considered personal property, and the rest of the commodity array within the specified norm is considered imported (exported) for non-commercial purposes with the completion of a customs receipt note and payment of customs duties. But the State Customs Committee does not include this commodity array in the data on foreign trade.

2. Dynamics and structure of the RF foreign trade turnover. Features of the modern development of Russia's foreign trade

Over the past decades, differences have become noticeable in the growth rates and directions of Russia's foreign trade activities. Such trends have led to significant shifts both in the geographical and in the commodity structure of Russia's foreign trade turnover.

Throughout the 90s. The Russian Federation has invariably kept its foreign trade balance with a surplus. This also applies to the balance of export-import operations of Russia with non-CIS countries. In the middle of the current decade, imports from neighboring countries slightly exceeded the supply of Russian goods there.

Since 1993, the growth rates of the volume of foreign trade turnover of the Russian Federation have also been quite good, especially in the mid-90s, when they increased over the year by 1/6 and 1/5, respectively.

In general, the dynamics and geographic structure of Russia's foreign trade in the 90s. looks like this (Table 1).

Table 1. Dynamics and geographic structure of foreign trade of the Russian Federation


USA total trade turnover, billions of dollars:
Growth compared to the previous year,%
Non-CIS countries Trade turnover, billions of dollars

Including: Export
Growth compared to the previous year,%
Far abroad
Near Abroad

Growth compared to the previous year,%
Far abroad
Near Abroad

Expanding cooperation with the CIS countries is one of the priority areas of foreign trade and foreign economic relations of Russia, which are established at three levels. The CIS countries account for about 1/4 of the total volume of Russia's foreign trade turnover.

In recent years, more than ¾ of the total export value of the Russian Federation (including trade with the CIS countries) has been accounted for by raw materials. Thus, in 2003, the share of goods of the "Mineral Products" group in the total export of Russia, i.e. mainly fuel and energy products accounted for 56.5%; ferrous and non-ferrous metals accounted for 11.4%; for wood and pulp and paper products - 3.3%, and for machinery, equipment and vehicles - 8.9%; for chemical and other goods - 19.9%.

The dramatic structural changes that have taken place in the Russian economy during the years of perestroika have affected the structure of the country's foreign trade. The share of machine-building products in domestic machine-building production decreased from 30 to 17%, light industry - from 12 to 2%, while the share of products from the fuel and energy complex increased from 11 to 33%.

In connection with these processes in the commodity structure of the country's exports, the share of raw materials and semi-finished products increased from 84% in 1992 to almost 90% in 1999, and the share finished products decreased from 16 to 10%, which was primarily due to the non-competitiveness of most types of finished products offered for export, as well as the difficult financial situation of Russian enterprises.

Significant changes have occurred in the volume of supplies and the structure of exports of such an important commodity group as machinery, equipment and vehicles. In the 70s, the share of these products in the export structure of the Soviet Union exceeded 20%, although even then this figure did not correspond to the structure of domestic production and was significantly lower than the global level (about 30%).

Russian export of machinery, equipment and Vehicle in 2003 amounted to 11917.5 million dollars, which was 18.5% more than in 2002.

The situation with the export of domestic complete equipment and design and installation services has not been entirely favorable in recent years. The volume of Russian exports of complete equipment currently does not exceed $ 1 billion, which is less than 20% of the volume of technical assistance to the USSR in the 1980s. The main reasons for this situation are the actual withdrawal of Russia from the markets of complete equipment of the countries of Eastern Europe - former CMEA partners, as well as from the markets of most developing countries, which, in turn, is due to a sharp reduction in the volume of state financing of this form of cooperation.

As before, Russian exports are dominated by energy resources: oil, oil products, natural gas, coal. They are a defining position in the "Mineral Products" product group. In 2003, 62.1 million tons were exported (including deliveries to the CIS countries) coal, 223.5 million tons of crude oil, 20.9 billion kWh of electricity, 189.3 billion cubic meters. m natural gas etc.

The volumes of energy supplies to the external market are becoming so significant that this begins to negatively affect the normal provision of this product for the country's internal needs, since the increase in the volume of energy exports is taking place against the background of a progressive decrease in their production.

In the total volume of exports, the share of fuel and energy resources accounted for 56.5%. Only due to the growth of average contract prices for energy resources, foreign exchange earnings from the export of mineral fuel increased by more than $ 10 billion. The dynamics of exports is shown in more detail in Table 2.

Table 2. Dynamics of exports in 2002-2003

product name

Raw oil, million tons
Far abroad

Petroleum products, million tons
Far abroad

Natural gas, billion cubic meters m
Far abroad

Coal, million tons
Far abroad

Electricity, billion kWh
Far abroad

Note: I - quantity, II - price, USD per ton, III - share in total exports

Ferrous and non-ferrous metallurgy products are also an important item of Russian export. The decline in effective demand in the Russian industry, which is in crisis, led to an increase in exports of metallurgical products. So, in the second half of the 90s, about 60% of the produced rolled ferrous metals, 70% of refined copper, 80% of nickel and aluminum were exported. Russia took the second place in the world (after Japan) in terms of the export of ferrous metallurgy products.

In recent years, a significant place in Russian exports began to occupy precious metals and rough diamonds, the main buyer of which is De Beers.

Wood and pulp and paper products are traditional types of Russian exports, but the share of this product group in the export structure is small - in 2003 it amounted to slightly more than 3%. An increase in the economic efficiency of the export of this group of goods can be achieved by increasing the share of deliveries of products of deeper processing.

For certain commodity items Russian supplies largely determine the state of international trade exchange. Thus, Russia ranks first in the world in the export of natural gas, platinum, rough diamonds, nickel, nitrogen fertilizers and aluminum; second place - for the supply of conventional weapons; the third-fourth place in the world export of oil and oil products, electricity, rolled ferrous metals and potash fertilizers.

Import deliveries traditionally play a significant role in solving many vital problems of the country's socio-economic development and providing both the production sector and the population with those types of products that are not produced domestically or are produced in insufficient volumes. The problems of the country's industrialization in the years of the first five-year plans, the reconstruction of the national economy in the post-war years, the correction of the unfavorable balance of food products in lean years and many other equally significant tasks of a national scale were solved to a large extent with the help of imports.

The most large-scale item of Russian imports is "Machinery, equipment and vehicles".

In the structure of imports, the share of food products and agricultural raw materials for their production is significant, which is caused, among other reasons, by a sharp decline in national agricultural production. Russia currently imports more than 40% of the total volume of domestic food consumption, and in the food balance of Moscow and St. Petersburg, the share of imports is more than 70%. How negative this phenomenon is can be seen from the following.

In international practice, there is a clear understanding that a state whose share of imports in the total balance of domestic food consumption is approaching 30% is on the verge of losing its economic security and independence. It follows from this that Russia has already crossed this line far. Having refused to import feed grains for fattening livestock and the subsequent production of meat and dairy products, Russia imports these goods in large quantities, thereby financing agricultural production in industrialized countries and contributing to the further collapse of Russian national agriculture. It is obvious that the import of these products, as well as the import of vegetable oil, sugar, vegetables and other goods, the production of which is quite possible in Russia, is not justified either from an economic or a political point of view.

In Russian imports, consumer goods occupy a noticeable place, the share of which can be estimated at 20-25%, but most of this import is not reflected in foreign trade statistics, since it is carried out by individuals (the so-called unorganized trade). In general, more than half of the domestic turnover of these products falls on imported goods, which also unjustifiably and significantly weakens the economic security of Russia. Its semi-transparent borders with the CIS countries create ample opportunities for smuggling, which causes significant economic damage, since revenues from customs tax, which is one of the largest items of the revenue side of the RF budget, are significantly reduced, not to mention the environmental and medical imperfection of smuggled goods.

3. Foreign trade balance of the Russian Federation

To assess the nature of Russia's foreign trade, the state of its balancing is of great importance. This must be known both from the point of view of the scale of the inflow or outflow of financial resources, and from the standpoint of the dependence of the domestic process of expanded reproduction on the ability of foreign partners to absorb the goods of a given country or, conversely, to provide it with raw materials, machines, food or other useful products of labor.

Characteristic feature Over the past five years, there was a positive trade balance of the country due to the outstripping growth of export supplies over import purchases. In 2006, the surplus increased by $ 8.3 billion compared to 2005 and reached a record high of $ 41.5 billion.This means that the imbalance coefficient of Russia's foreign trade turnover, which is the ratio of the net balance to the turnover , exceeded 31% against 11% in 2002. The corresponding figure in Germany was 8%, in the USA - 13%, and in Japan - 14%. The steady increase in the trade surplus during the years of radical economic reforms is important for the formation of the federal budget revenues. Suffice it to say that in 2006 the receipts of various kinds of payments on export-import operations were approximately at the level of 17% of all federal revenues.

For a financial assessment of the state of Russia's foreign trade, it is of great interest to analyze its balancing by groups of countries and by individual states. Take, for example, Russian trade relations with certain associations of countries.

In the customs statistics of Russia in 2000-2003, the distribution of foreign trade was applied to the following groups of countries: CIS, OECD, EU, EFTA, OPEC, countries of Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) and the Baltic countries. We will make the necessary clarification of the country composition of each of these groups.

So, the members of the CIS are: Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Ukraine.

Members of the European Union (EU) are currently considered: Austria, Belgium, Great Britain, Germany, Greece, Denmark, Ireland, Spain, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Portugal, Finland, France and Sweden.

The European Free Trade Association (EFTA) now includes: Liechtenstein, Switzerland, Iceland and Norway.

The group of countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) includes: EU countries, EFTA, as well as Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Turkey, USA and Japan.

Members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) are: Algeria, Libya, Iraq, Qatar, Kuwait, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Nigeria, Gabon, Iran, Indonesia, Venezuela and Ecuador.

The countries of Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) include: Albania, Bulgaria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Hungary, Macedonia, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Croatia, Czech Republic and Yugoslavia.

The group of Baltic countries includes: Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia.

The balancing of trade relations between Russia in 2003 with the aforementioned separate groups of states is presented in the table below.

Table 3. Russia's foreign trade balance in 2003

	*Turnover*	*Export*	*Import*	*Balance*
Total
growth rate in%
Including: Far abroad
growth rate in%
*CIS countries*
growth rate in%

In the total volume of foreign trade turnover, the EU countries accounted for 36.1% (in 2002 - 36.8), the CIS - 17.8% (16.9%), APEC - 16.1% (16.4%) , Central and Eastern Europe - 12.4% (12.9%).

The active fat of the trade balance increased by $ 15.8 billion (by 26.1%). The positive balance of the foreign trade balance of Russia exceeded the volume of imports in 2003 by 1.3 times. The excess of exports in comparison with imports has taken place annually since 1999, and is mainly due to the favorable situation for Russia on the world commodity markets, and the skillful use of this conjuncture by Russian exporters, especially in trade with non-CIS countries.

In 2003, export prices increased more significantly than import prices. The terms of trade index for Russia was more favorable and improved significantly compared to 2002.

According to the balance of payments data, the volume of exports in 2003 amounted to USD 135.4 billion, imports - USD 75.4 billion. The significant excess in the revised import of customs statistics is mainly due to the import of goods by individuals, which accounted for almost the volume of total imports.

The aim of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation in the field of foreign trade regulation of foreign trade is to ensure the optimal structure of the balance of payments by reorienting Russia's foreign trade turnover from raw materials exports and imports, mainly in the form of consumer goods, to science-intensive, high-tech industries; increasing the efficiency of foreign trade operations through clearer control over the level of contract prices, production costs, the level of tax collections, customs tariff payments, as well as the dynamics of the ruble exchange rate, etc.

Russia, not being a member of the World Trade Organization, suffered losses from restrictive measures in foreign trade, which, according to the Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation, are applied against it by 18 trade partners. The minimum direct damage from various kinds of restrictions on Russian exports is $ 500 million per year. Meanwhile, there was an increase in the volume of imports due to an increase in purchases of machinery and equipment, which indicates a certain revival of investment activity in the country.

Therefore, the most important task is Russia's accession to the World Trade Organization.

The most important factor growth of the country's foreign trade turnover is government incentive policy participation of enterprises, associations and industries in international economic relations. Involving them in the process of the international division of labor is a powerful means of specializing industry on an international scale, increasing labor productivity and increasing the efficiency of the functioning of the national economy.

A stable factor of the economic order, ensuring the growth of the country's foreign trade turnover, was expansion of domestic production of industrial and agricultural products. The constantly increasing economic potential made it possible the former USSR to allocate an increasing share of material and financial resources for the development of foreign economic relations.

One of the decisive reasons for the growth of the foreign trade turnover of the unified Soviet state with Eastern European and other CMEA countries was implementation of measures provided for by various kinds of international agreements. Thus, in the joint program of deepening and improving cooperation between the CMEA member countries, it was said that the development of the mutual division of labor, specialization and cooperation of production in the conditions of the increasing industrial character of these countries will serve as the basis for the development of their mutual trade. And it really happened.

Along with the above, there were other motives for the development of the foreign trade turnover of our country. For example, a major role in accelerating the growth of its foreign trade was played by increase in world prices for energy and raw materials in the early and late 70s.

As noted above, the participation of the Russian Federation in the international division of labor ultimately finds its expression in the data of foreign trade, in the growth of its foreign trade turnover. But it still does not follow from this that this participation is limited to the signing of trade contracts of different duration. On the contrary, the development of the international division of labor presupposes the use by each country of various forms of its implementation.

In Russia's relations with some countries of the world community, such a form of implementation of international cooperation of production as agreements on the formation of joint ventures in the territory of partner countries has recently become widespread. The growth of Russian exports can be significantly influenced by the development of technical assistance to foreign countries, carried out either on the basis of intergovernmental agreements, or as an initiative of individual firms participating in the competition for obtaining orders for the construction of economic facilities on a commercial basis. Intergovernmental agreements on the construction of nuclear power plants in China and Slovakia, a hydroelectric complex in Morocco, participation of Russian associations in tenders for the modernization of nuclear power plants in Bulgaria, for the construction of a gas pipeline in Algeria can provide orders for many domestic plants, design and installation companies. In connection with the changes in the international political situation, the restoration and development of technical assistance with Iraq, Libya and Yugoslavia is coming soon, which will further increase the supply of Russian machinery and equipment abroad.

Russia has large production capabilities to increase its share in world trade, but they are not used for different reasons... This is not the place to find out all of them, but nevertheless it is necessary to mention such one of them as the quality of exported products. Perhaps this is one of the main issues, the solution of which will help to increase the share of our country in world trade.

4. Russia's accession to the World Trade Organization as one of the conditions for increasing the country's foreign trade turnover

In February 1994, the Russian Government handed over to the GATT member countries a Memorandum on Russia's foreign trade regime. This step by the Russian Government opened the active phase of negotiations on the terms of Russia's accession to the WTO.

The negotiations are going on in two main directions. One is a serious examination in the WTO Working Group of Russian foreign trade legislation (including the practice of its application) to determine its compliance with the principles and norms of the WTO and to determine the conditions under which the WTO member countries will approve Russia's accession to the General Agreement and other WTO Agreements. Another is the development of a protocol on the tariff conditions for Russia's accession and a list of obligations under the GATS. The protocol on tariff conditions will include the obligation of Russia to fix at a mutually agreed level the rates of customs duties on a number of goods and to reduce duties on certain goods within several years. These areas together will determine the conditions for Russia's accession to the WTO.

Accession to the WTO is Russia's accession to the world's developing practice of legal and administrative regulation of international economic relations. Figuratively speaking, this step means the accession of Russia to current regulations movement of goods and services in the world market. Without this step, the successful implementation of progressive economic reforms in the country can hardly be possible, and foreign trade will find itself in extremely difficult conditions for development.

Russia faces a difficult task - to determine national economic interests and priorities, to determine the limits of concessions and conditions that guarantee national economic security, and to be able to defend them in the course of difficult negotiations, in the conditions of already manifested economic pressure from Western countries, attempts to get Russia to unilaterally open the market , non-reciprocal concessions, unwillingness to admit that many industries in Russia have comparative advantages that allow them to export goods at competitive prices, significantly influence the formation of the level of world prices for goods and become one of the pricing factors in the world market. It is advisable to emphasize that the GATT in its current and future form does not prohibit protectionism, permits raising customs duties, allows many types of non-tariff restrictions to be applied, does not prohibit the use of quotas and licensing, and permits subsidizing certain sectors of the economy. However, all this can be carried out within the framework and on the basis of certain legal norms and customs. Therefore, Russia's accession to the WTO will not weaken the state's ability to regulate foreign trade, will create new legal conditions for protecting the interests of Russian exporters and importers, will make it possible to more clearly outline the balance of national interests and the interests of individual sectors of the economy, and, finally, will pave the way for a difficult transition of the country in the field of foreign trade for the practice that developed in the world by the mid-90s, on the basis of which foreign trade is conducted by all countries of the world.

The negotiations on Russia's accession to the WTO are large-scale. Several dozen departments and government bodies are involved in them, and they require the organization and coordination of the negotiation process. Already at the initial stage of negotiations, the problem of clearly determining the balance of Russia's national economic interests and the interests of individual groups of entrepreneurs, producers and consumers of all forms of ownership was determined.

The path to the World Trade Organization begins with defining the conditions for Russia's accession to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade. Participation in the GATT has given and continues to provide states with a multilateral legal framework for the conduct of trade by national exporters and importers, guarantees all participants the most favored nation treatment and protects against trade and political discrimination.

The most important reason that prompted Russia to join the WTO is its desire to become, at last, an equal trading partner in the world market. The incredibly complex and cumbersome system of bilateral agreements that was created by the Soviet Union, in the current conditions of increased internationalization of world economic ties and the interdependence of national economies, is far from always capable of protecting Russia's economic interests.

Membership in the WTO gives a country many advantages. Their receipt is, in a pragmatic sense, the goal of joining the WTO.

The specific objectives of the accession for Russia can be considered the following:

access to a multilateral legal framework for the implementation of trade operations by national exporters and importers;

international legal protection guaranteed by the principles and norms of the WTO, including such important provisions as the most favored nation treatment, thanks to which Russia will be able to use the constantly decreasing tariffs of other WTO member countries, and the national treatment for goods and services exported and imported by Russian companies, protection from the possible application by foreign states of discriminatory internal taxes, excise taxes, customs duties;

the possibility of legalizing the system of protecting one's national economy within the framework of the WTO;

protection from use so-called technical barriers to trade (technical and other norms and standards, certification rules, etc.);

Obtaining the best in comparison with the existing and non-discriminatory conditions for the access of Russian products to foreign markets;

Access to the international trade dispute settlement mechanism;

Creation of a more favorable climate for foreign investment as a result of bringing the legislative system in line with WTO norms;

Expanding opportunities for Russian investors in the WTO member countries, in particular, in the banking sector;

Creation of conditions for improving the quality and competitiveness of domestic products as a result of an increase in the flow of foreign goods, services and investments to the Russian market;

Participation in the development of international trade rules, taking into account their national interests;

Improving the image of Russia in the world as a full-fledged participant in international trade.

The talks currently being held by the Russian delegation are complex. In the course of the talks, a number of countries are showing their desire to make additional tough demands on Russia. In particular:

the possibility of maintaining discriminatory restrictions even after Russia's accession to the WTO on the import of goods from Russia;

the possibility of not applying on a permanent basis the most favored nation regime in trade with Russia;

maintaining expanded obligations on access to the service market at a level no less than that fixed in the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement between Russia and the EU countries;

fixing by Russia for the period of negotiations on accession to the WTO the maximum amount of state support for agriculture at a level slightly exceeding the actual level, and undertaking obligations not to apply export subsidies;

Russia's commitment to energy-related services;

Russia's acceptance of obligations on guarantees regarding entry to Russia for the work of specialists as individuals without education legal entity.

The membership of any state in the WTO is currently the most important condition for its integration into the world economy, creating favorable opportunities for increasing its exports.

It would not be an exaggeration to say that the norms established by the WTO are, in fact, an international trade law. Being outside the common legal space, not being a member of this organization, any state dooms itself to the position of an outsider in international trade, because general rules do not apply to it. This encourages joining the WTO, but at the same time it is necessary to accept the obligations common to its members.

For Russia, access to the aforementioned advantages of WTO membership is an absolute must. In particular, because the issue of protecting its exporters is now very acute for it. Practically all types of restrictions that exist in international trade have been established on the way of Russian goods. In addition, anti-dumping procedures are a painful obstacle to Russian exports. last time is constantly growing.

By joining the WTO, Russia will be able to negotiate on an equal footing on trade and political issues. Now practically all the most important problems of multilateral trade cooperation - setting customs tariffs, using quantitative restrictions, agreeing on a mechanism for resolving trade disputes, improving common trade practices - all this is done without the influence of Russia. We use all these WTO decisions in practice, but do not influence their adoption in any way.

In addition, Russia, as a member of the WTO, will be able to protect itself from unilateral arbitrariness in the application of certain restrictive measures, in particular, from the growing number of anti-dumping investigations in relation to Russian export goods. Russia's accession to the WTO does not mean that Russia is striving for some kind of benefits, privileges, it wants to become an equal participant in international trade.

On the other hand, by joining the WTO, Russia assumes an obligation to abide by strict rules of conduct. If Russia does not comply with these rules and violates the discipline of the organization, then such an intractable partner within the WTO will actually face a trade war with the entire trading community.

Under the terms of accession to the WTO, in response to the opening of foreign markets for its goods, Russia will have to open the domestic market more widely for imports. At the same time, it is clear that most of the products manufactured in Russia will not withstand competition with foreign ones. In addition, since after the creation of the WTO, services also became the subject of regulation on a global scale, the services market should also be liberalized. And here the positions of domestic companies are even weaker. Consequently, the conclusion suggests itself that it is necessary to develop a set of protectionist measures aimed at supporting their own producers. However, on this issue, we are not always consistent.

The gains from Russia's accession to the WTO may fall short of expectations for a variety of reasons. The Russian economy is in such a state today that it cannot implement the principles of free trade with other countries without great damage to itself. In the context of a drop in production in industry, agriculture and other sectors, which is caused, among other things, by a shortage of raw materials and materials, manufacturing enterprises are increasingly oriented towards export. At the same time, the country's needs are increasingly covered by imports.

Bringing Russian legislation in line with WTO norms and Russia's future obligations in connection with its accession presents a particular challenge. More than half of the federal economic laws in force today do not comply with the WTO norms. Fundamental changes are to be made in a number of federal laws, primarily on state regulation of foreign trade, corporate, tax, budget legislation, a dozen other laws and by-laws, and the formation of new legal norms. The most difficult and sensitive area of Russian legislation related to accession to the WTO is regional legislation, since currently there are no legislative acts on the division of competences and responsibilities between the Federation and the regions in the field of foreign trade.

The procedure for joining the WTO provides for the obligatory fixation of the level of customs rates adopted by this organization for many groups of goods, which are often significantly lower (on average, almost three times) in force in Russia. For certain groups of goods, the so-called binding of duties is provided - fixing them at a certain level with the obligation not to exceed it for a certain time.

Upon joining the WTO system, Russia will receive not only the rights protecting its exports, but will also assume the corresponding obligations in the field of import policy.

These commitments will undoubtedly entail the need to change the existing trade policy and, consequently, increase the need to continue the restructuring of the Russian economy. Russia will have to revise customs tariffs in order to bring them closer to the level that has developed in the WTO as a result of eight rounds of negotiations on their reduction, to bring trade legislation in line with world norms. In addition, negotiating partners will seek maximum concessions from Russia. There will be tough bargaining at the technical level of experts who will represent the most important economic interests of their countries in the negotiations.

In fact, necessary adjustments to import policies may also be helpful. It is often difficult from a political point of view to pursue a line that would force enterprises to face foreign competition, modernize and rebuild production in areas where they have a global competitive advantage. This applies to all countries, regardless of the economic system and decision-making procedure.

So, based on all of the above, we can draw the following conclusions. Russia's accession to the WTO will create predictable conditions for the activities of both Russian and foreign economic operators. More favorable conditions will be created for the access of domestic goods and services to the world market. However, Russia will have to pay for all this by opening its internal market. In these conditions, it is extremely important to develop a set of measures aimed at protecting domestic producers. At the same time, however, normal conditions for the development of competition must be preserved.

In this regard, I would like to note that with regard to the issue of Russia's accession to the WTO, one cannot unequivocally take the side of either the active supporters of this step, or the side of the protectionists. A certain balance of interests is needed here, which in this case is the most rational solution to this difficult problem. The question of whether Russia joins the WTO or not cannot be considered only on the basis of the current situation, as the protectionists do, it is a strategic question. Membership in the WTO is designed for decades. The question of participation in the WTO is also legitimate from the point of view of the terms of accession. The main condition is that the international trade regime for Russia, when it becomes a member of the WTO, should improve in comparison with the current one. Russia's accession to the WTO will not happen at any cost for our country, but only on favorable terms for it. The payment that Russia agrees to pay for this step must be commensurate with the benefits that it will receive. However, joining this international organization depends not only on the Russian side; a difficult negotiation process continues. Russia has taken a constructive position in its course, it will join the WTO only if it will bring a real advantage to the country's economy. The main task of the Russian delegation at the talks is to clearly explain to trading partners that a radical opening of the market for our country is now unacceptable, it can be carried out only gradually. Apparently, it would be in Russia's interests to gradually join the WTO agreements, carried out over a certain period of time necessary to solve the problems of restructuring and modernizing Russian industry, reforming the domestic corporate structure, and creating an effective system of state regulation of external and internal economic relations. Ideally, the very schedule of the transition period should become an integral part of the national program to revive and increase the competitiveness of the Russian economy. I would like to hope that the negotiation process on Russia's accession to the WTO will end happily for our country and, having become a member of this authoritative organization, Russia will finally enter the legal space of the international multilateral trading system, outside of which any country finds itself in the position of an outsider on the world the market for goods and services.

Bibliography

1. Avdokushin E.F. International economic relations. - M., 2000.

2. Gerchikova I.N. International economic organizations. - M: "Consulting", 2004.

3. Danilin A.M. Foreign trade of Russia in 2007. // Foreign economic bulletin. 2006, no. 4.

4. Danilin A.M. Methodological aspects of foreign trade. // Foreign economic bulletin. 2004. No. 7.

5. Zhukov E.F., Kapaeva T.I., Litvinenko L.T. International economic relations. Textbook for universities. / Ed. E.F. Zhukov. - M .: Jurist, 2003.

6. World Economy: Textbook / Ed. A.S. Bulatov. - M .: Jurist, 2003.

7. Rybalkin V.E. International economic relations. Third edition, revised and enlarged. - M .: LLC "UNITY-DANA Publishing House", 1999.

8. Semenov K.A. International economic relations: a course of lectures. - M .: Gardariki, 1999.

9. Timakov A.I. Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Russian Federation: the concept of Russia's accession to the World Trade Organization. // Foreign economic bulletin. 2005. No. 3.

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World trade

World trade is characterized by three important characteristics:

· Total volume (foreign trade turnover);

· Commodity structure;

· Geographical structure.

Foreign trade turnover- the sum of the value of exports and imports of a particular country.

Distinguish value volume foreign trade and physical volume foreign trade.

The value volume is calculated for a certain period of time at current prices using current rates.

The physical volume of foreign trade is calculated at constant prices and, therefore, allows the necessary comparisons to be made, to determine its real dynamics.

During its development, world trade has gone through several stages.

1. XVIII - XIX centuries. World trade has reached a significant scale and acquired the character of stable international commodity-money relations. A powerful impetus to this process was the creation in a number of industrialized countries (England, Holland, etc.) of large-scale machine production, focused on large-scale and regular import of raw materials from economically less developed countries of Asia, Africa and Latin America, and export to these countries of manufactured goods, mainly for consumer purposes.

2. The first half of the XX century. World trade has gone through a series of deep crises. The first of them was associated with the world war of 1914-1918, it led to a long and deep disruption of world trade, which continued until the end of World War II, which shook the entire structure of international economic relations to its foundations. In the post-war period, international trade faced new difficulties - the collapse of the colonial system. However, all these crises have been overcome.

In general, a characteristic feature of the post-war period was a noticeable acceleration in the rate of development of world trade, which reached the highest level in the entire previous history. human society... Moreover, the growth rate of world trade exceeded the growth rate of world GDP.

3. Second half of the twentieth century. International exchange became "explosive", world trade began to develop at an extremely high rate:

· In the period from 1950 to 1994, the world trade turnover increased 14 times;

· The period between 1950 and 1970 can be described as the "golden age" in the development of international trade. Thus, the average annual growth rate of world exports was in the 50s. 6%, in the 60s. - 8.2%;

· In the period from 1970 to 1991, the physical volume of world exports (ie, calculated in constant prices) increased 2.5 times, the average annual growth rate - 9%, in 1991-1995. this figure was 6.2%.

The volume of world trade increased accordingly. So, in 1965 it amounted to $ 172.0 billion, in 1970 - $ 193.4 billion, in 1975 - $ 816.5 billion, in 1980 - $ 1.9 trillion, in 1990 . - $ 3.3 trillion. and in 1995 - over $ 5 trillion.

It was during this period that an annual 7% growth in world exports was achieved. However, already in the 70s. it dropped to 5%, declining even more in the 80s. In the late 80s. In the late 80s. world exports showed a noticeable recovery (up to 8.5% in 1988). After a clear decline in the early 90s, in the middle of this period, it again showed high stable rates.

The stable, sustainable growth of international trade has been influenced by a number of factors:

· Development of the international division of labor - the internationalization of production;

· Scientific and technological revolution, contributing to the renewal of fixed capital, the creation of new sectors of the economy and accelerating the reconstruction of old ones;

· Active activity of transnational corporations in the world market;

· Regulation (liberalization) of international trade through the activities of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT);

· Liberalization of international trade, the transition of many countries to a regime that includes the abolition of quantitative restrictions on imports and a significant reduction in customs duties - the formation of free economic zones;

· Development of trade and economic integration processes: elimination of regional barriers, formation of common markets, free trade zones;

· Obtaining political independence of the former colonial states. Distinguishing from the number of "newly industrialized countries" with a model of the economy oriented towards the external market.

From the second half of the twentieth century. the unevenness of the dynamics of foreign trade became very noticeable. This influenced the balance of power between countries in the world market. The dominant position of the United States was shaken. For example, Germany's export approached the American one, and in some years even exceeded it.

In addition to Germany, exports of other Western European countries also grew rapidly.

In the 80s. Japan made a significant breakthrough in international trade. By the end of this period, she began to take the lead in terms of competitiveness factors.

At the same time, along with Japan, the "new industrial countries" of Asia - Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan - took the lead. However, by the mid-90s. The United States has regained its leading position in the world in terms of competitiveness. They were closely followed by Singapore, Hong Kong, as well as Japan, which previously occupied the first place for 6 years.

So far, developing countries remain mainly suppliers of raw materials, foodstuffs and relatively simple finished goods to the world market. However, the growth rate of trade in raw materials lags far behind the overall growth rate of world trade in other goods.

This lag is due to the development of substitutes for raw materials, their more economical use, and the deepening of processing.

Industrialized countries have almost completely captured the market for high technology products.

At the same time, individual developing countries, primarily "newly industrialized countries", have managed to achieve significant progress in restructuring their exports, increasing the share of finished goods, industrial products, including machinery and equipment. So, the share of industrial exports of developing countries in the total world volume in the early 90s. amounted to 16.3%.

The results of Russia's foreign trade in 2016 turned out to be, perhaps, the most disappointing over the past 5 years. Foreign trade turnover has seriously declined in value terms. This was due to the devaluation of the ruble and to economic sanctions and counter-sanctions imposed by the EU and North America, and sanctions of Russia against its, in the recent past, partners.

However, the second half of the year turned out to be not so much a failure. In any case, already in November-December last year, foreign trade indicators began to recover, reaching the already familiar levels.

Thus, according to the Federal Customs Service, Russia's foreign trade turnover in 2016 amounted to $ 471.2 billion. Compared to 2015, the decrease in foreign economic activity was 11.2%.

The main reason for this situation is the devaluation of the ruble, which followed the strongest drop in oil prices in early 2016, experts say. In January, quotations for Brent crude oil fell below $ 30 per barrel due to oversupply in the market, as well as reduced demand from China.

At the same time, the dollar / ruble exchange rate skyrocketed to 78 rubles. This coincided with a seasonal decline in business activity in January, which is observed in Russia every year, as well as a decline in production in many manufacturing industries. As a result, January trade volumes hit record lows — exports fell by a third and imports - by 20%.

Nevertheless, since February 2016, the volume of trade, together with the ruble exchange rate, began to recover. The largest oil exporting countries - Venezuela, Canada, Nigeria Libya for political and economic reasons have reduced the production of hydrocarbons. As a result, excess production declined and prices began to bounce back. In the fall, quotations continued to grow, and with them the ruble exchange rate. Despite pessimistic forecasts, after several years of negotiations, the OPEC countries have finally agreed to cut oil production. In addition, the election of Donald Trump to the presidency of the United States provided additional support for the ruble - many expect a change in political course and the possibility of lifting sanctions on Russia.

At the end of 2016, Russia's exports in value terms decreased by 17% and amounted to $ 285.49 billion. At the same time, the lowest rates were typical for January, when it immediately fell by 37.2%.

This dynamics is due to the fact that Russia exports abroad mainly hydrocarbons - oil and gas, and along with the fall in prices for them, the total value of exports also fell. At the same time, exports in physical terms, on the contrary, increased. Our country throughout the year did not reduce, but increased their supplies abroad, even in conditions of low prices. Thus, oil exports for the year increased by 6.6% to 236.2 million tons, and

revenues from it fell 17.7% to $ 73.67 billion. The same was true for the export of other raw materials - in physical terms, the export of natural gas increased by 13.8% to 154.7 billion cubic meters. m., although already in the first half of the year its price fell by 48.1% to 156.1 dollars per 1000 cubic meters.

Large commodity companies increased their supply volumes in order to maintain their market share. In addition, in conditions of devaluation, they could receive a larger amount of export earnings in rubles.

The same has become an incentive for enterprises in other industries. Thus, Russia has increased the supply of many food products to China, Asia and Europe. In terms of wheat supplies this spring we have become the first in the world, overtaking Canada and the United States. In addition, the export volumes of meat, butter, milk, cheese and cottage cheese increased. The supply of mechanical engineering products, timber and many other goods increased. This was also influenced by the state support of large companies aimed at increasing production and stimulating exports. In addition, the devaluation of the ruble allowed Russian products to win in the competition with other countries - domestic goods were often supplied to world markets at lower prices, but this did not result in large losses for exporters.

At the end of the year, imports also decreased. In value terms, it amounted to $ 183.6 billion, which is less than for last year by 0.3%. January and February became the most disastrous for him, when he fell by 18.7% and 16.7%, respectively.

In contrast to exports, the physical volumes of imports also showed a decline. The volume of imports of vehicles, power generators, textiles and food has decreased. The fall in the ruble exchange rate has become one of the main reasons for the reduction in supplies - the purchase of imported goods has become much more expensive for the Russian buyer than before. In addition, they were affected by a drop in consumer demand and a decrease in industrial production in a number of industries, which was especially typical for the first half of the year.

In addition, the drop in total imports was the result of various bans that were plentifully introduced in 2016. In addition to the current food embargo, which led to a record decrease in food supplies from Europe and the United States, from January 1, 2016, Russia imposed a ban on the import of agricultural products from Turkey - tomatoes, tangerines, eggplants and other fruits and vegetables. At the same time, almost 60% of all food exports from Turkey to Russia fell under the ban. It was partially withdrawn in the fall, but it still managed to significantly affect the volume of supplies.

From the beginning of the year, an unspoken ban on the import of Turkish textiles also began to operate - the customs authorities did not allow them to enter the country.

Russian authorities introduced other non-tariff measures as well. For example, in the fall, fruits and vegetables from Egypt were banned, in which the Rosselkhoznadzor revealed a lot of violations. in July, a ban on the import of feed from Ukraine began to operate; in October, temporary restrictions on the supply of pork from Moldova were introduced, and in November, edible salt was added to the list of sanctioned products.

Another major import item has been falling for several years in a row. The supply of vehicles, which account for almost half of all supplies from abroad, is rapidly decreasing - the excessively high rates of import duties, together with the utilization fee, have become a real barrier for imported equipment.

At the end of the year, Russia's foreign trade turnover with non-CIS countries amounted to 85% of the total trade volume. At the same time, the share of the European Union decreased from 44.8% to 42.8% in favor of the APEC countries, and mainly China - from 28.1% to 30%. Due to the devaluation of the ruble, Russian exporters partly reoriented to non-CIS countries, since the currencies of the CIS countries also weakened due to devaluation, and access to other markets was often more attractive.

In January-December, foreign trade turnover with non-CIS countries amounted to $ 413.4 billion, down 11% compared to 2015. At the same time, exports fell by 16.9% to $ 248.1 billion, while imports by the end of the year increased by 0.8% to $ 163 billion.

Falling oil and gas prices were the main factor behind the decline in export figures, with the result that trade fell by more than a third in the first months of the year.

In addition, there has been a decline in the supply of petroleum products, primarily fuel oil and diesel fuel due to a reduction in their production. Their deliveries to the Netherlands, Italy and Latvia, the Republic of Korea and Japan have significantly decreased.

Imports began to increase in the fall, after the ruble began to confidently recover against the backdrop of rising oil prices. Demand for imported products from consumers and commercial enterprises has intensified. As a result, purchases of laboratory and industrial equipment, electronic circuits and auto parts.

China is still in the first place among the main trade partners of Russia. Despite a decrease in demand on its part at the beginning of the year and a decrease in coal supplies, Russia still managed to increase its foreign trade turnover with it by 4% to $ 66.1 billion. Importers from the Middle Kingdom began to buy more machinery and equipment, cars, metals, food products, including fruits and vegetables, sausages, bread, chocolate and other products. Cooperation in other areas has also expanded - in the summer, China signed more than 30 different agreements with Russia.

Trade with European countries showed negative dynamics. Foreign trade turnover with Germany fell by 11.1% to $ 40.7 billion, with the Netherlands by 17% to $ 32.3 billion, with Italy by 35% to $ 19.8 billion. The only exception was France, with which trade increased by 14% to $ 13.3 billion due to increased supplies of Russian gas and grain.

The volume of trade with Turkey due to the current trade restrictions fell by 32% and amounted to only 15.8 billion dollars. Due to political tensions and current bans, the supply of fruits and vegetables, as well as Turkish textiles, has dropped record.

It is also worth noting that in 2016 an important event took place for Russia's foreign trade. In autumn, the Agreement on the Establishment of a Free Trade Zone between the EAEU and Vietnam came into force, according to which 59% of all tariff lines can now be traded duty-free.

Fuel and energy products prevail in the commodity structure of exports with non-CIS countries. In 2016, their share decreased from 66.5% to 62%. The decline was due to a decrease in value volumes due to falling prices for hydrocarbons - the cost of importing these goods fell by 22.5%. However, in physical terms, exports grew - an increase of 3.2%. In particular, supplies of natural gas increased by 13.8%, coal by 9.1%, and crude oil by 6.6%. At the same time, supplies of petroleum products fell - diesel fuel by 5.9%, and liquid fuel - by 17.3%. The reduction in the export of petroleum products is largely due to the effect of the tax maneuver, as a result of which the tax burden has increased greatly, and the volumes of oil refining in Russia have become lower.

Exports of the second largest group of goods - metals and products of their processing - also fell in value terms by 11.9%, but at the same time increased in physical volume by 4.4%. The best dynamics was shown by the export of flat rolled steel (supplies increased by 13.6%), and semi-finished products from iron and unalloyed steel (an increase by 2.6%). As in the hydrocarbon market, due to falling demand and oversupply, prices for metals at the beginning of 2016 remained low.

The supply of equipment also showed a sharp increase. The value of their exports did not change, however, in physical terms, the import of land transport, except for railroad, increased by 67.8%, optical devices and by 26.4% - electrical equipment. Not only domestic companies have increased their supplies, but also foreign manufacturers located in the country - Volkswagen, Hyundai and others. At the same time, exports are focused on both European countries and China, Mongolia, Vietnam, Algeria, Iran and other countries.

Food supplies increased in value terms by 7.7%, and in physical terms by 12.8%. Records in agriculture allowed Russia to increase the export of grain, potatoes, meat and other types of products. At the same time, in addition to traditional buyers, supplies to the countries of the Middle East, Asia, and, in particular, China and even the countries of Latin America, increased.

Among the large commodity groups, the export of chemical products showed a decrease. The value of its exports decreased by 22.5%, and physical by 0.6%. The decline showed the import of soap and detergents by 15.3% and pharmaceutical products. Export itself large category among chemical products - mineral fertilizers decreased by 2.2% mainly due to the growth of its consumption within the country for the needs of growing agricultural production.

In the commodity structure of imports to non-CIS countries, the main share is occupied by machinery and equipment. In the total volume of supplies, it increased from 48% to 50.2%. Due to trade restrictions - high duties and recycling fees, as well as the location of production facilities of foreign companies directly on the territory of the import country passenger cars fell by 24.8%, and freight by 17.5%. At the same time, the volume of supplies of other goods in this group showed an increase - the import of mechanical equipment increased by 4.1%, electrical equipment and optical instruments by 1.8%.

The second largest import item also showed positive dynamics. Purchases of chemical products by physical volume increased by 4%. In addition to the growth in the supply of soap and cosmetics, fertilizers also showed an increase. According to Phosagro's estimates, their consumption in Russia increased by 17%.

Other product groups showed declines. The physical volumes of food imports decreased by 9.1%, textiles by 8.5% and metals and metal products by 5.1%.

The share of the CIS countries, despite the well-established economic ties, is much more modest than with non-CIS countries. In 2016, it was 12.1%, slightly decreasing by 0.5% compared to 2015. In 2016, domestic companies exported goods worth $ 56.7 billion to the CIS (-14.2%), and imported goods worth $ 19.3 billion (-8.1%).

Due to the close dependence on the Russian economy, the fall in oil prices entailed not only the devaluation of the Russian ruble, but also a decrease in the exchange rates of national currencies in the Commonwealth countries. The prices for the Uzbek sum (-17.5%) and the manat of Azerbaijan fell the most. In addition, in many countries there has been a production recession, which has led to a reduction in the demand and supply of goods in the external market.

Among foreign trade partners, Belarus continues to occupy the leading positions. It accounts for almost half of the total trade turnover. At the end of 2016, its volume amounted to $ 26.3 billion, having decreased by 5%. The decline at the end of the year was primarily due to price factors, as a result of which the indicators of trade in hydrocarbons, metals and mechanical engineering products decreased. At the same time, Belarus has significantly increased the supply of food products to Russia - meat and poultry, dairy products, fruits and vegetables. The total food supply is estimated at $ 2 billion. Nevertheless, the Rosselkhoznadzor has repeatedly noted that sanctioned products are also supplied to Russia through Belarus.

Trade turnover with Kazakhstan decreased by 16.3% to $ 13.04 billion due to a decrease in the supply of oil products, cars and ferrous metals. In 2016, Kakzakhstan actively promoted the import substitution policy and enterprises reduced their purchases. For example, in 2016, imports of gasoline and diesel fuel decreased by more than 20 thousand tons due to an increase in its own production.

The greatest decline was shown by trade with Ukraine - foreign trade turnover with it decreased by more than a third due to mutual sanctions and trade restrictions, decreasing at such a rate for several years in a row. In addition, the drop was due to the cessation of Russian gas supplies to the country.

Among the CIS countries, only Armenia increased its foreign trade indicators - the volume of supplies increased by 6% to $ 1.34 billion. After joining the EAEU, the country is steadily increasing the supply of fish, fruits and vegetables, alcohol, textiles and footwear.

In the commodity structure of Russia's export to the CIS countries, fuel and energy products dominate - they account for 32.6%. Due to lower prices for hydrocarbons, as well as a decrease in the supply of gas and oil to Ukraine and Belarus, the value and physical volumes of exports of these goods decreased by 31.2% and 8.7%, respectively. At the same time, supplies of electricity decreased by 34.5%, natural supplies by 16.6%, and petroleum products by 3.8%.

Supplies of machinery and equipment, which rank second in terms of exports, also declined due to lower demand in the CIS countries - their exports in value terms fell by 15.8%. At the same time, the most significant drop was in the supply of land transport, except for rail. They decreased by 43.7%.

The volumes of supplies of metals also decreased - their share in the total volume of exports amounted to 11.7%, while value volumes decreased by 9.8% largely due to low world prices, and physical volumes by 7.8%. At the same time, non-ferrous metals, on the contrary, showed growth - the export of copper and copper alloys grew by 6.3%.

The supplies of chemical products, in turn, increased - in physical terms, exports increased by 9.4%, while in value terms they decreased by 4%. At the same time, fertilizers, which account for the lion's share of supplies of this group of goods, showed an increase of 20.8%, which is due to an increase in their production within the country and demand from the CIS countries for agricultural needs.

The commodity structure of imports of goods from the CIS countries in recent years has begun to change - every year the share of food products is growing. In January December it increased to 23.3%, although in 2015 it was 20.8%. The food embargo imposed by Russia is forcing countries to look for suppliers from other countries, while convenience of logistics and low prices give advantages to the CIS countries. At the end of the year, the largest growth was shown by the supply of cheese and cottage cheese, having increased by 7.4%, and butter - by 2.7%. At the same time, imports of pork fell by 83.6% due to Rosselkhoznadzor restrictions caused by outbreaks of African swine fever.

The deliveries of engineering products increased by 6.2%. At the same time, the largest growth was shown by the volumes of import of trucks - by 51.2%. In addition, in the past year, Russia has increased the demand for the purchase of agricultural machinery and equipment.

In physical terms, purchases of metals and metal products increased - their value increased by 1.9%, and in physical terms - by 9.9%. The largest growth was shown by purchases of metal pipes (+ 40.2%), as well as flat products and unalloyed steel - by 17.8%.

Import of textiles also showed a record growth - the value of their import increased by 25.8% and 40.8%, respectively. The conflict with Turkey, one of the main suppliers of textiles to the Russian market, and the devaluation of the ruble, which made the purchase of these products in China more expensive, forced domestic companies to reorient themselves to the markets of the CIS countries.

Thus, 2016 for foreign trade passed under the aegis of low oil prices, devaluation and trade bans, which together influenced the structure of foreign trade. Among the positive changes - an increase in the share of the non-resource sector in the volume of exports, an increase in the supply of textiles, food and engineering products. Many exporters discovered new markets for themselves and began to focus on non-CIS countries, while importers, after last year's recession, on the contrary, turned their attention to the CIS countries. At the same time, it is too early to talk about long-term changes - the food embargo and devaluation, which became incentives for our exporters, may end.

Every year, 1/5 of all products manufactured in the world enter the channels of foreign trade, and this share is constantly growing, especially in the context of international integration. International trade volume (world trade)- the sum of only the export volumes of all states, usually expressed in US dollars (Table 2).

table 2

World trade turnover (in billions of dollars)

international trade- the sphere of international commodity-money relations; the totality of foreign trade of all countries of the world. At the same time, foreign trade of individual states, regions is an integral element of international trade. Although the world market and international trade are secondary, derived from the international division of labor, they, however, are not a passive reflection of the latter, but have an active opposite effect on it (and, accordingly, on the development of the world and national economies).

Foreign and international trade is characterized by three important characteristics: total volume (turnover), commodity structure and geographic structure.

Foreign trade turnover- the sum of the value of exports and imports of a particular country (Table 3). At the same time, the value and physical volumes of foreign trade are distinguished.

The value of exports (imports)- the volume of exports (imports), calculated as the volume for a certain period of time in current prices of the corresponding years using current exchange rates.

Physical volume of foreign trade- the volume of foreign trade, calculated in constant prices and allowing to determine its real dynamics.

Table 3

Foreign trade turnover of some countries of the world in 2000 (billion dollars)

The country	Export	Import	Foreign trade turnover

Great Britain
Germany





South Korea
Malaysia

Netherlands

Saudi Arabia
Singapore

Proceeding from the fact that in 2000 the world trade turnover amounted to 6186.0 billion dollars, and the world export of services - 1435.0 billion dollars, the share of each of the 20 leading countries in world trade is determined.

An upward trend has been observed since 1999, when exports grew by 1%. At the same time, the decline in imports continued, caused by its rise in prices due to the devaluation of the Russian currency. In 2000, positive trends in the increase in foreign trade turnover based on the growth of both exports (139.5%) and imports (113.4%) continued. The improvement of the situation on the world markets, associated with the improvement of the conjuncture, made it possible to more fully realize the competitive advantages of Russian exporters, and the outlined strengthening of the ruble led to an increase in imports, which continued in 2001.