In order to calculate the balance of trade, you must calculate the difference between a country’s imports and exports. The goal is to have a surplus. In this situation, the value of a nation’s exports is higher than the import’s value. A truly wealthy nation has a large surplus, and maintains a high level of valuable export trade. A poor nation is one that cannot maintain a surplus. They do not make enough money through exporting to make up for the debt they acquire from importing. The balance of trade isn’t technically stable in any country. This is due to crop failures, unpredictable death of livestock, mining accidents, supply-and-demand issues, increases in taxes and tariffs, instability of the currency value, the availability and cost of raw materials needed in manufacturing, and production costs. Economies that have a wider variety of exports tend to have stronger economies because there is more probability that some of their exports will make a profit.
Balance of payments is calculated based on every type of transaction (this includes exports, imports, service trade, transfers, loans, debt payments, bonds, and capital) that a particular country has with everyone else in the entire world. If the country is in debt, it is called a deficit. If the country has money, they have a surplus. A country can have a surplus in the balance of trade, but have a deficit in the balance of payments. For example, a country might have millions of diamonds and rubies they export every year which creates a huge surplus. They might not need to import very many goods, so they gain wealth in trade. This same country might have racked up billions of dollars in debt by taking out loans with another country, and the amount of money gained through exports does not make up the difference. It would be at a deficit overall.
Balance of payments is calculated based on every type of transaction (this includes exports, imports, service trade, transfers, loans, debt payments, bonds, and capital) that a particular country has with everyone else in the entire world. If the country is in debt, it is called a deficit. If the country has money, they have a surplus. A country can have a surplus in the balance of trade, but have a deficit in the balance of payments. For example, a country might have millions of diamonds and rubies they export every year which creates a huge surplus. They might not need to import very many goods, so they gain wealth in trade. This same country might have racked up billions of dollars in debt by taking out loans with another country, and the amount of money gained through exports does not make up the difference. It would be at a deficit overall.