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balance of trade

(Encyclopedia)balance of trade, relation between the merchandise exports and imports of a country. The concept first became important in the 16th and 17th cent. with the growth of mercantilism. Mercantilist theoris...

reciprocal trade agreement

(Encyclopedia)reciprocal trade agreement, international commercial treaty in which two or more nations grant equally advantageous trade concessions to each other. It usually refers to treaties dealing with tariffs....

World Trade Center

(Encyclopedia)World Trade Center, former building complex in lower Manhattan, New York City, consisting of seven buildings and a shopping concourse on a 16-acre (6.5-hectare) site; it was destroyed by a terrorist a...

World Trade Organization

(Encyclopedia)World Trade Organization (WTO), international organization established in 1995 as a result of the final round of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) negotiations, called the Uruguay Roun...

doldrums

(Encyclopedia)doldrums dŏlˈdrəmz [key] or equatorial belt of calms, area around the earth centered slightly north of the equator between the two belts of trade winds. The large amount of solar radiation that arr...

European Free Trade Association

(Encyclopedia)European Free Trade Association (EFTA), customs union and trading bloc; its current members are Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland. EFTA was established in 1960 by Austria, Denmark, Great...

horse latitudes

(Encyclopedia)horse latitudes, two belts of latitude where winds are light and the weather is hot and dry. They are located mostly over the oceans, at about 30° lat. in each hemisphere, and have a north-south rang...

Latin American Free Trade Association

(Encyclopedia)Latin American Free Trade Association: see Latin American Integration Association. ...

International Trade Commission, United States

(Encyclopedia)International Trade Commission, United States, independent agency of the U.S. government established in 1916 as the Tariff Commission; renamed International Trade Commission in 1975. It is charged wit...

North American Free Trade Agreement

(Encyclopedia)North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), accord establishing a free-trade zone in North America; it was signed in 1992 by Canada, Mexico, and the United States and took effect on Jan. 1, 1994. NAF...