A number of aids facilitate international trade. These, as the list below shows, include international agreements, means for financial support, attempts at exchange rate stabilization, and the development of economic alliances.
- General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT)
- Export-Import Bank
- International Monetary Fund (IMF)
- Economic alliances
The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is an international accord setting trade rules. It is an attempt to have all nations work together to lower trade barriers. The agreement was created with the idea of limiting the possibility of a country’s making a unilateral trade policy and having other nations retaliate. All signers of the agreement have agreed to work together to reduce import tariffs.
The Export-Import Bank attempts to promote international trade by lending money to importers and exporters who have not been able to obtain funds from other sources, and by lending money to foreign governments to help the development of international trade.
The International Monetary Fund provides a vehicle for foreign exchange by assisting in stabilizing exchange rates in the world economic community.
Economic alliances are agreements among independent nations to promote trade. These nations create agreements to allow trading among themselves without tariffs, or to develop one set of trade rules. The most famous of these economic alliances is the European Economic Community (EEC), also called the Common Market.