 international trade is the exchange of capital, goods, and services across international borders or territories.dictionary.reference.com in most countries, such trade represents a significant share of gross domestic product (gdp). while international trade has been present throughout much of history (see silk road, amber road), its economic, social, and political importance has been on the rise in recent centuries. it is the presupposition of international trade that a sufficient level of  geopolitical peace and stability are prevailing in order to allow for the peaceful exchange of trade and commerce to take place between nations. trading globally gives consumers and countries the opportunity to be exposed to goods and services not available in their own countries. almost every kind of product can be found on the international market: food, clothes, spare parts, oil, jewelry, wine, stocks, currencies and water. services are also traded: tourism, banking, consulting and transportation. a product that is sold to the global market is an export, and a product that is bought from the global market is an import. imports and exports are accounted for in a country's current account in the balance of payments.  in most countries, such trade represents a significant share of gross domestic product (gdp). while international trade has been present throughout much of history (see silk road, amber road), its economic, social, and political importance has been on the rise in recent centuries. it is the presupposition of international trade that a sufficient level of  geopolitical peace and stability are prevailing in order to allow for the peaceful exchange of trade and commerce to take place between nations.  industrialization, advanced technology transportation, globalization, multinational corporations, and outsourcing are all having a major impact on the international trade system. increasing international trade is crucial to the continuance of globalization. without international trade, nations would be limited to the goods and services produced within their own borders. international trade is, in principle, not different from domestic trade as the motivation and the behavior of parties involved in a trade do not change fundamentally regardless of whether trade is across a border or not. the main difference is that international trade is typically more costly than domestic trade. the reason is that a border typically imposes additional costs such as [[tari
International_economics International_trade Official_statistics