INTRODUCTION International marketing is the marketing activity carried on across national boundaries.

It is the marketing activities involved between countries. It always crosses the boundaries of the country. In brief, marketing activities beyond the boundaries of the country are termed as international marketing. International/global trade, inter-regional trade, world trade and export marketing are some terms which are to some extent identical with the term international marketing. Export marketing is one major area/aspect of international marketing as export marketing deals with exports while international marketing is broader in scope and deals with imports and exports. DEFINITIONS OF INTERNATIONAL MARKETING 1. According to Hess and Eateor ! International marketing is the performance of business activities that direct the flow of goods and services to consumer or users in more than one nation.! ". According to S#$%as% c. &ain! "he term international marketing refers to exchanges across national boundaries for satisfaction of human needs and wants.! FEATURES OF INTERNATIONAL MARKETING #. "here are large scale operations. $. "here is dominance of multinational corporations. %. It is subject to tariff and non-tariff barriers. &. "here is presence of "rading blocs. '. It is subject to foreign exchange regulations. (. "here is stiff competition. ). It is regulated by international forums such as *"+. ,. "here is a need for international marketing research. IM'ORTANCE OF INTERNATIONAL MARKETING "he importance benefits of international marketing are explained as follows1. Lo(ers )rices International marketing enables companies to speciali.e in those goods and services in which they are more competent. /y speciali.ation, international marketing lowers the prices of goods and services. "he comparative cost benefits enjoyed by firms due to speciali.ation are partly passed on to the consumers. ". Increases t%e rea* inco+e and nationa* (e** $eing International marketing ensures that each country speciali.es in the production of those commodities, which it is best suited to produce, export its surplus produce and import those commodities which it can obtain cheaper from abroad. In doing so, it increases the real income and national well being of all the participating countries. ,. F#rt%ers tec%no*ogica* de-e*o)+ent /y speciali.ation, it lowers the prices of goods and services all over the world. 0onse1uently it stimulates their consumption and demand for more and better goods, which causes further speciali.ation and technological developments.

.. 'ro-ides %ig%er standard o/ *i-ing International marketing provides better life and welfare to people in different countries. It provides goods which can not be produced in the home country. "his raises the standard of living of the people and social welfare. 0. Red#ces dangers o/ +ono)o*istic e1)*oitation /y ensuring free competition, international marketing reduces the dangers of monopolistic exploitation of consumers by the home producers2 exploitation of one country by another country is also difficult since there are numerous suppliers in international markets. 2. Ens#res o)ti+#+ #se o/ reso#rces International marketing enables to make optimum utili.ation of resources. 0ountries having surplus resources or production can export to other markets. 3. 4#i*ds c#*t#ra* re*ations International marketing changes the 1uality of life of people. It not only exchanges goods and services among nations but also it develops closer social and cultural relations between different nations. 5. 4ridges t%e tec%no*ogica* ga) It makes possible to transfer technology and other assistance from the developed nations to the developing ones and as such, it narrows the gap between the developed and developing countries. 6. 4ring internationa* co7o)eration and (or*d )eace International marketing brings countries closer due to trade relations. /ecause of interdependence of countries, cordial relations are maintained and this ensures world peace. 18. 4rings a$o#t ra)id ind#stria*i9ation 3ost of all, international marketing brings about a rapid growth and development not only of the developing nations but also that of developed ones. *hile the developed nations provide aid, capital goods and technology to the developing nations, which in turn supplies raw materials and labour to the developed nations. TRADE 4ARRIERS 4ree and fair international trade is an ideal situation as free trade is beneficial to all participating countries. 5owever, various types of barriers/restrictions are imposed by different countries on international marketing activities. 6uch imposed or artificial restrictions on import and exports are called "rade barriers which are unfair and harmful to the growth of free trade among the nations. "he trade barriers can be broadly divided into two broad groups. I. II. Tari// 4arriers. Non7Tari// $arriers.

1 TARIFF 4ARRIERS "ariffs refer to a customs duty or a tax on products that move across borders. "he most important tariff barrier is the customs duty imposed by the importing country. 7 tax may also be imposed by the exporting country on its export. 5owever, governments rarely impose tariff on export, because countries want to sell as much as possible to other countries. "he main important tariff barriers are as follows1. S)eci/ic d#t: 6pecific duty is based on the physical characteristics of goods. *hen a fixed sum of money, keeping in view the weight of measurement of a commodity, is levied as tariff it is known as specific duty. 4or example, 8s. '.99 par meter of cloth or 8s. '.99 on each ".:. set or *ashing machine imported, such duty is collected at the time of entry of goods.

". Ad7-a*ore+ d#t: 7d-valorem duties are imposed at a fixed percentage on the value of a commodity imported. 5ere, value of the commodity imported is taken as a base for the calculation of duty. Invoice is used as a base for this purpose. "his duty is imposed on the goods whose value cannot be easily determined e.g. work of art, rare manuscript, anti1ues, etc. ,. Co+)o#nd d#t: It is a combination of the specific duty and 7d-valorem duty on single product. 4or example, there can be a combined duty when #9; of value <ad-valorem= and 8s. #/- on every meter of cloth charged as duty. "hus, in this case, both duties are charged together. .. S*iding sca*e d#t:;Seasona* d#ties "he import duties which vary with the prices of commodities are called sliding scale duties. 5istorically, these duties are confined to agricultural products, as their prices fre1uently vary, mostly due to natural factors. "hese are also called as seasonal duties. 0. Co#nter-ai*ing d#t: It is imposed on certain imports where products are subsidi.ed by exporting governments. 7s a result of government subsidy, imports become cheaper than domestic goods. "o nullify the effect of subsidy this duty is imposed in addition to normal duties. 2. Re-en#e tari// 7 tariff which is designed to provide revenue to the home government is called revenue tariff. >enerally, a tariff is imposed with a view of earning revenue by imposing duty on consumer goods, particularly, on luxury goods which demanded from the rich is inelastic. 3. Anti7d#+)ing d#t: 7t times, exporters attempt to capture foreign markets by selling goods at rock-bottom prices, such practice is called dumping. 7s a result of dumping, domestic industries find it difficult to compete with imported goods. "o offset anti-dumping effects, duties are levied in addition to normal duties. 5. 'rotecti-e tari// In order to protect domestic industries from stiff competition of imported goods, protective tariff is levied on imports. ?ormally, a very high duty is imposed, so as to either discourage imports or to make the imports more expensive as that of domestic products. 6. Sing*e co*#+n tari// @nder single column tariff system, the tariff rates are fixed for various commodities and the same rates are made applicable to imports from all countries. "hese rates are uniform for all counties as discrimination is not made as regards the rates of duty. 18. Do#$*e co*#+n tari// @nder double column tariff system, two rates of duty on all or on some commodities are fixed. "he lower rate in made applicable to a friendly country or to a country with bilateral trade agreement. "he higher rate is made applicable to all other countries with which trade agreements are not made. 11. Tri)*e co*#+n tari// @nder triple column tariff, three different rates of duty are fixed. "hese are- <a= general rate <b= international rate and <c= preferential rate. "he first two rates are similar to lower and higher rates while the preferential rate is substantially lower than the general rates and is applicable to friendly countries.

II NON7FRAFIFF FARRIERS 7 non-tariff barrier is any barrier other than a tariff that raises an obstacle to free flow of goods in overseas markets. ?on-tariff barriers, do not affect the price of the imported goods but only the 1uantity of imports. 6ome of the important non-tariff barriers are as follows1. <#ota S:ste+ @nder this system, a country may fix in advance, the limit of import 1uantity of a commodity that would be permitted for import from various countries during a given period. "he 1uota system can be divided into the following categories. (a) Tariff/Customs Quota: - 7 tariff 1uota combines the features of the tariff as well as the 1uota. 5ere, the imports of a commodity up to a specifically volume are allowed duty free or at a special low rate duty. Imports in excess of this limit are subject to a higher rate of duty. (b) Unilateral Quota: - "he total import 1uantity is fixed without prior consultations with the exporting countries. (c) Bilateral Quota:- In this case, 1uotas are fixed after negotiations between the 1uota fixing importing country and the exporting country. (d) Mixing Quota :- @nder the mixing 1uota, the producers are obliged to utili.ed domestic raw materials up to a certain proportion in the manufacturing of a finished product. ". 'rior I+)ort De)osits 6ome countries insist that importers should deposit even up to #99; of their imports value in advance with a specified authority, normally their central bank. +nly after such deposits, the importers are given a green signal to import the goods. ,. Foreign E1c%ange Reg#*ations "he importer has to ensure that ade1uate foreign exchange is available for import of goods by obtaining a clearance from Exchange 0ontrol 7uthorities prior to the concluding of contract with the supplier. .. Cons#*ar For+a*ities 6ome countries impose strict rules regarding consular documents necessary for importing goods. "hey include import certificates, 0ertificate of origin and certified consular invoice. Aenalties are provided for noncompliance of such documentation formalities. 0. State Trading 6tate trading is useful for restricting imports from abroad as final decision about import are always taken by the government. 6tate trading acts are one non-tariff barrier. 2. E1)ort O$*igation 0ountries, like India, impose compulsory export obligation on certain importers. "his is done to restrict imports. "hose companies, who do not fulfill export obligation <to compensate for imports= have to pay a fine or penalty. 3. 're/erentia* Arrange+ents 6ome nations form trading groups are preferential arrangements in respect of trade amongst themselves. Imports from member countries are given preferences, whereas, those from other countries are subject to various tariffs and other regulations. 5. Ot%er Non7tari// 4arriers "here are a number of other non-tariff barriers such as health and safety regulations, technical formalities, environmental regulations, embargoes etc.