Passage 2
International trade by barter is, in fact, an inefficient and expensive means of doing business compared to trading with money. Observes David Yoffie, “To cover the additional costs it incurs in handling goods it is forced to take in countertrade, a multinational company simply boosts the price of the goods it sells.” Yoffie sees countertrade as a form of protectionism. “It can help one group and hurt another,” he says.
On the other hand, Daniel Cecchin, director of Countertrade Services for Bank America World Trade Corp., asserts that the rise of countertrade provides practical solutions to the debt problems of the international monetary system.
39.What is the meaning of “barter” in its traditional form?
It means the direct exchanging of goods of equivalent value rather than using money.
