International Trade

The world is shrinking rapidly with the advent of faster communication, transportation, and financial flows. Products developed in one country- Gucci purses, Sony electronics, McDonald's hamburgers, Japanese sushi, German BMWs have found enthusiastic acceptance in other countries. It would not be surprising to hear about a German business person wearing an Italian suit meeting an English friend at a Japanese restaurant who later returns home to drink Russian vodka and watch Dancing with the Stars on TV. International trade has boomed over the past three decades. Since 1990, the number of multinational corporations in the world has grown from 30,000 to more than 63,000. Some of these multinationals are true giants. In fact, of the largest 150 "economies" in the world, only 81 are countries. The remaining 69 are multinational corporations. Walmart, the world's largest company, has annual revenues greater than the GDP of all but the world's 21 largest countries.