The Current Trends in the International Trade in Goods, the Features of Ukraine’s Foreign Trade
The article is aimed at disclosing the current trends in the international trade in goods and the features of Ukraine’s foreign trade. The dynamics and structure of international trade in goods are analyzed and the current trends of its development are highlighted. The factors of slowing down the dynamics of international trade in goods and reducing its role as a catalyst for the world economy are disclosed. Much attention is paid to defining structural shifts in the international trade in goods both geographically and in the product aspect. Shifts in the composition of the leading countries participating in the international trade and changes in the group of goods - leaders in the world market are considered. The publication characterizes the dynamics of Ukraine’s foreign trade in goods during 2006-2018. Structural changes in the exports of goods from Ukraine are highlighted and the reasons for these changes are disclosed. On the basis of calculation of the index of identified comparative advantages, commodity groups are defined, in which Ukraine has advantages in the global commodity market. As a result of the carried out research, it is concluded that presently Ukraine has the identified comparative advantages together with specialization mainly on the exports of goods with low added value. The reorientation in the geographical structure of exports from CIS countries towards the EU countries also leads to the loss of Ukraine’s markets for high value-added goods and the expansion of supplies of raw materials and low-processing products. At the same time, the decline in imports of highly processed products against the background of a decrease in the domestic high-tech production increases the vulnerability of the country’s economy towards external shocks. In these circumstances, the prospects for positive developments in the dynamics and structure of Ukraine’s foreign trade depend on many internal and external factors.