A trading nation is a nation where international commerce constitutes a major proportion of its gross domestic product. A country that acts as a trading nation attracts a great deal of foreign investment and foreign direct investment (FDI). This results in the creation of a favorable trading environment that stimulates domestic economic activity and provides a boost to national income and disposable income. A trading nation should be able to attract FDI in a large degree because it represents a high return on investment.
There are two types of nations that could be described as trading nations. One is a nation that relies on exports for its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and the other is a nation that relies on imports for its GDP. In case of the first type of trading nation, all the surplus output that it produces is sold off on the domestic market. The goods that are produced by this excess inventory are not utilized by the domestic sector, but rather they are exported to the rest of the world. The country’s role in the production of surplus goods is quite obvious – it needs to export goods in order to buy them.
A second kind of trading nation is one that relies on both internal and external trading. This means that domestic demand and supply do not play a decisive role in determining the price of the domestic product. A clear example of such a trading nation would be China. China relies on external sources for its industrial and consumer demand, but at the same time it also manufactures domestically using heavy investment and state-of-the-art technologies. China is, thus, a major exporter of both manufactured goods and consumer goods.
So how does Canada fit into this picture? Although Canada is not a very open or free trade nation, it has been successful in establishing a very significant trading relationship with the USA over the last thirty years or so. This closeness has helped to maintain a fairly consistent level of exports and imports, which in turn has helped to make Canada a major exporter of manufactured goods internationally. Moreover, since many of their domestic consumers are aware of the fact that Canada exports most of what they need, they are able to purchase these products at prices that are far lower than the prices offered to them at home. All in all, Canada remains a very important player on the international market and it does not look like its economy will be changing anytime soon.
One of the key players on the global exporters’ stage is Germany. Germany is not only a world-class producer of automobiles, but it also has some of the largest exporters of goods that are sold all over the world. In fact, since the reunification of Germany in 1989, Germany has enjoyed a high level of growth both as a trading nation and as an exporter of manufactured goods. The reason for this? Well, there are a lot of reasons – reunification has made Germany a very strong trading nation and the Germans have become quite skilled at exporting and importing products from abroad.
As far as manufacturing is concerned, the United States remains the largest exporter of goods that are traded internationally. Interestingly enough, even though the U.S.A. is no longer the biggest trading nation in the world, it is still the largest exporter of manufactured goods. While China, Japan, and Germany are amongst the next biggest exporters of imported goods, the U.S.A. remains the biggest exporter of exports. Given all this, trading the forex markets and importing or exporting manufactured goods is something that you should experience if you want to participate on the global trading stage.