Lundyn Palmer
Dr. Bunn
Microeconomics
February 26, 2015
Barriers to Trade Before taking microeconomics I had not realized that there was so much to international trade. When the class first started and I knew that we would be learning about international trade, it had never crossed my mind that there would be as much to learn about it as I have over the course so far. My initial thought about the subject was that it would be a fairly simple concept to learn about. Once I actually begin reading the chapter about international trade and learning about the subject in class I quickly realized that I was wrong and it was a fairly complex area with a lot of information to take in. I had no idea that there were as many different parts as there is to the subject. Before I actually knew what international trade fully consisted of, I viewed it as a major part of the United States where we either received or sent goods or services to other parts of the world. I had no idea that there was much more to it, other than just sending or receiving goods and services to other parts of the world. My thoughts on international trade were not too far off considering international trade is the exchange of capital, goods, and services across international borders or territories. Once learning more about the subject, I began to realize that there was a lot that I did not know about international trade. Until taking microeconomics I had no idea that international trade permits each country to specialize in areas of relative efficiency, which increases world output. The area that interested me the most throughout this chapter that I knew nothing about was trade barriers. I thought of the term loosely. I looked at trade barriers in a very simple way. I thought that they were regulations that the United States and other countries had to follow. My thinking wasn’t far off, but it was not correct. I learned that trade barriers are measures that governments or public authorities introduce to make imported goods or services less competitive than locally produced goods and services. While learning about trade barriers it became apparent to me that they take many forms, and not everything that prevents or restricts trade can be characterized as a trade barrier. Embargoes are one of the many forms of trade barriers. They prohibit trade against particular goods. Until this class I had never heard the term, but after I read about it I