Trade Balance

The trade balance of a country is the difference between its exports and imports of goods and services for the reporting period, expressed in monetary terms.

The active part of the trade balance (with a plus sign +) includes: exported goods and services, foreign expenditure, and foreign investment in the national economy.

The passive part of the trade balance (with a minus sign -) includes: imported goods and services, domestic expenditure, and domestic investment in the foreign economy.

The sum of all these items gives the total balance of trade.

If a country exports more goods and services than it imports, it has a trade surplus (positive value of the indicator). If imports exceed exports, the country has a trade deficit (negative value of the indicator).