Balance of trade

Balance of trade is the difference between the monetary value of a nation's <a href="/facts/Export/t8wVcoNL">exports</a> and <a href="/facts/Import/Gt05qP7R">imports</a> of <a href="/facts/Goods/AtK6gQh2">goods</a> over a certain time period. Sometimes, trade in <a href="/facts/Service_(economics)/B7L4tR8r">services</a> is also included in the balance of trade but the official <a href="/facts/IMF/tPSTWWS4">IMF</a> definition only considers goods. The balance of trade measures a <a href="/facts/Flow_variable/zpgeVptu">flow variable</a> of exports and imports over a given period of time. The notion of the balance of trade does not mean that exports and imports are "in balance" with each other.
If a country exports a greater value than it imports, it has a trade surplus or positive trade balance, and conversely, if a country imports a greater value than it exports, it has a trade deficit or negative trade balance. As of 2016, <a href="/facts/List_of_countries_by_net_exports/yV1QMdcK">about 60 out of 200 countries have a trade surplus</a>. The idea that a trade deficit is detrimental to a nation's economy is often rejected by modern trade experts and economists.
The notion that bilateral trade deficits are bad in and of themselves is overwhelmingly rejected by trade experts and economists.

Balance of trade open-in-new

Balance of trade