105 學年度學測英文 第 30 題

International trade is the exchange of goods and services between countries. Trade is driven by different production costs in different countries, making 26 cheaper for some countries to import goods rather than make them. A country is said to have a comparative advantage over another when it can produce a commodity more cheaply. This comparative advantage is 27 by key factors of production such as land, capital, and labor.

While international trade has long been conducted in history, its economic, social, and political importance has been 28 in recent centuries. During the 1990s, international trade grew by nearly 8.6% each year. In the year 1990 alone, the growth in trade in services was as high as 19%.

Today, all countries are involved in, and to varying degrees dependent on, trade with other countries. 29 international trade, nations would be limited to the goods and services produced within their own borders. Trade is certainly a main 30 force for globalization. It is also the subject of many international agreements that aim to govern and facilitate international trade, such as those negotiated through the World Trade Organization (WTO).