We live in a globalized world that is more connected then ever and in a world that trades more than ever. International trade is largely based on the idea of comparative advantage that a country would specialize in things it can produce with lower opportunity costs. However it is still the case that the majority of international trade tends to be regional. You tend to trade more with your neighbors and with cultures that share a common language or history. Our classes are currently doing some research into countries and to examine the international trade patterns each country partakes in.
Below are the chosen countries by groups in each class.
We examined the main partners in which each country exports to and imports from and shown the top 3 trading partners as well as the top 3 categories of items that each country exports and imports. It was generally true that the largest trading partner for each country was a neighboring country, with the notable exception of the USA and China. In general these countries tend to export more to the USA than they imported from the USA, (except Brunei and Singapore) and tend to import more from China then they export to China.
Data for these countries was sourced at: http://atlas.cid.harvard.edu/
Eacg area of the world is color coded by continent in this box diagrams that show the countries trade relationships. It is notable to see the trade patterns that most trade happens within a continent even if there are large partners outisde of the continent the country is in.
Canada - main trading partners are it's neighbors in NAFTA. (now the USMCA)
France - Most of its trade exists within the common market of the EU but also the US and China.
Italy - Also mostly trades within the EU but also the US and China.
Greece - Overall has less total trade than Italy and France but has similar patterns, including buysing ships from China.
Turkey - Trades a lot of secondary manufacturing as well as significant oil imports from Russia.
Pakistan - Trades in textiles to the US while also importing a large amount of Paml oil mostly for cooking.
India - Famous in the US for it's call centers also has many oil refineries.
South Korea - Has lots of foreign direct investment between itself and China.
Japan - Exports lots of electronics and cars while imports a lot of natural resources.
Malaysia - Palm oil is a major export as well as electrical compotents and is a major trading hub in southeast Asia.
Singapore - Almost it's entire GDP is centered around free trade and as a center trading hub of Asia.
Brunei - Exports are mostly extraction based sectors, exporting natural resources and primary sector goods.
Hong Kong - The free trade gate to China. A large amount of China's trade flows though this port city.
Since the US and China were significant partners which eachcountry, included below is the US and China.
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