Trade

Trade is the voluntary exchange of goods, services, or both. Trade is also called commerce. A mechanism that allows trade is called a market. The original form of trade was barter, the direct exchange of goods and services. Modern traders instead generally negotiate through a medium of exchange, such as money. As a result, buying can be separated from selling, or earning. The invention of money (and later credit, paper money and non-physical money) greatly simplified and promoted trade. Trade between two traders is called bilateral trade, while trade between more than two traders is called multilateral trade.

See also

• Balance of trade
• Balanced trade
• British timber trade
• Business
• Categories
• Category:Currency
• Common market
• Comparative advantage
• Exchange rate
• free trade zone
• Globalization
• Illegal drug trade
• Import substitution
• international trade
• Lists
• List of international trade topics
• offshore outsourcing
• offshoring
• Protectionism
• Public exchange
• trade barrier
• Trade bloc
• Trade fair
• Trading post
• Trade route
• Trade statistics
• Trade war
• trade war over genetically modified food
• World Trade Organization