We explain what commerce is, its history and what types exist In addition, the commercial code and the World Trade Organization.
Trade is one of the oldest human activities.What is trade?
Trade is any form of economic activity consisting of the exchange or transfer of goods or services between the different possible economic actors. It is one of the oldest and most fundamental human activities for the establishment of the first economies, as well as for the flow and expansion of cultures.
Commercial activity is part of the main and majority occupations of the human being throughout the history, especially after the rise of the bourgeoisie to the power behind him Renaissance and the subsequent start of capitalism.
In that sense, the invention of money was fundamental to his developing, allowing to establish a method of appraisal or value assignment on the same scale to products and different services, which at the beginning of the humanity should be given according to barter.
Today, trade occurs at different scales, inside and outside the borders of the countries, making the most diverse products reach their possible consumers. The volume of this exchange is immense: in 2018 alone, the exports of the least developed countries amounted to US $ 8.779 trillion, 193 billion of which were destined for the nations more developed.
At the same time, a process of ascent of the world GDP is evident. Or to put it more simply: in the contemporary world more and more is produced and more is traded.
Trade history
Commerce is as old as civilization. Its first manifestations arose during the Neolithic period, together with the emergence of agricultural and sedentary societies: as planting maximized the food obtained and allowed their accumulation, the possibility arose of exchanging the surplus with other producers.
Thus, it was possible not only to maintain a diverse diet, but also to access other types of goods and services in which each person specialized, as new forms of production such as pottery, iron and steel and other activities emerged.
Along with the material exchange, cultural elements were also exchanged, the result of friction between the ancient inhabitants: languages, religions, ways of thinking or information with respect to distant towns.
The great ancient empiresThus, they were the center of the trade of their respective regions, in which different trade routes converged. Each one had their own currency that, in addition to reflecting their culture and their emblems, served as a wild card to facilitate exchange between producers and between producers. merchants.
The world trade scheme developed over time, incorporating new technologies such as promissory notes or bills of exchange (debts), which allowed to operate with money that was not yet had. In the Middle Ages the first arose banks, long before money had the central place in the society it has today, thanks to the invention and expansion of capitalism in the 18th century.
Later, the expansion of European empires to the entire world brought with it the mercantilism and the need for nations to control their commercial activity, to enrich themselves and strengthen their state. Thus, trade took a great leap and eventually began to involve the flow of goods from one corner of the world to another, becoming an international activity.
The truly globalization of commerce came in the 20th century, when the invention of Internet and the telecommunications allowed the purchase and sale of goods and services in rapid time throughout the planet.
Types of trade
There are different ways to classify business activity. In the first place, we must distinguish the possible types of trade based on the volume of merchandise and its modes of sale, as follows:
- Wholesale trade. Also called "wholesale" or "wholesale", it is a type of purchase and sale of merchandise in which large volumes of merchandise are handled at a reduced price, generally intended for resellers who will then proceed to retail trade, thus obtaining a gain.
- Retail commerce. Also called “retail”, “retail”, “retail” or “retail”, it is, on the contrary, the purchase and sale of merchandise on a small scale, generally made directly to the final consumer.
On the other hand, we can distinguish between the forms of commerce based on the transport mechanism used to transport the producer's merchandise to its customers. consumers, thus speaking of land, sea, air or river trade. To trade through Internet It is known, also as e-commerce or electronic commerce.
Finally, we must distinguish between:
- Domestic trade. It is performed between persons They belong to the same country and share the jurisdiction of the State.
- Foreign trade. It involves economic actors found in different countries.
Importance of trade
Trade is a fundamental activity of humanity, largely responsible for the dissemination of knowledge, technologies, cultures, languages and religions that, since ancient times, thus enriching different human societies.
It has also been, along with production, one of the main economic activities of human beings, to which we currently owe the largest volume of economic transactions in the contemporary world.
Commercial Code
A commercial code is a systematized and unified set of rules of Commercial law, intended to regulate all forms of commercial exchange in a country, and which is part of its specific legal framework. This type of treaty arose from the Illustration French and specifically of the legal changes introduced by Napoleon Bonaparte.
Currently, commercial codes, together with certain laws They allow to regulate the commercial exchange to guarantee its performance according to basic principles, which respect the fundamental laws of each society.
World Trade Organization
The WTO is an international organization based in Geneva, Switzerland, founded in 1995. Its task is to administer a series of agreements between the attached nations.
Thus, it guarantees that the exercise of international trade is carried out in the healthiest and most fair way possible, thus helping producers and exporters of goods and services to join the offer and the demand of a world increasingly globalized economically.
It is made up of 164 different nations, as well as a group of observer nations, who act as impartial judges between the negotiations that take place within them. On the other hand, this organization is not part of the United Nations nor from financial organizations such as the World Bank or the International Monetary Fund.