NCERT Solutions for Class 11 Geography - International Trade

Q1: Choose the right answer from the four alternatives given below.
(i) Most of the world’s great ports are classified as:
(a) Naval Ports
(b) Oil Ports
(c) Comprehensive Ports
(d) Industrial Ports
Ans: (c)

(ii) Which one of the following continents has the maximum flow of global trade?
(a) Asia
(b) North America
(c) Europe
(d) Africa
Ans: (c)

Q2: Answer the following questions in about 30 words:
(i) What is the basic function of the World Trade Organisation?
Ans: The basic functions of the World Trade Organisation:

• WTO deals with the global rules of trade between nations. 
• It sets the rules for the global trading system and resolves disputes between its member nations. 
• WTO also covers trade in services, such as telecommunication and banking, and others issues such as intellectual rights.

(ii) Why is it detrimental for a nation to have negative balance of payments?
Ans: A negative balance would mean that the country spends more on buying goods than it can earn by selling its goods. This would ultimately lead to exhaustion of its financial reserves.

(iii) What benefits do nations get by forming trading blocs?
Ans: Regional Trade Blocs have come up in order to encourage trade between countries with geographical proximity, similarity and complementarities in trading items and to curb restrictions on trade of the developing world.

Q3: Answer the following questions in not more than 150 words:
(i) How are ports helpful for trade? Give a classification of ports on the basis of their location.
Ans: Ports are chief gateways of the world of international trade are the harbours and ports. Cargoes and travellers pass from one part of the world to another through these ports. The ports provide facilities of docking, loading, unloading and the storage facilities for cargo. In order to provide these facilities, the port authorities make arrangements for maintaining navigable channels, arranging tugs and barges, and providing labour and managerial services.

Types of port on the basis of location:

• Inland Ports: These ports are located away from the sea coast. They are linked to the sea through a river or a canal. Such ports are accessible to flat bottom ships or barges. For example, Manchester is linked with a canal; Memphis is located on the river Mississippi; Rhine has several ports like Mannheim and Duisburg. a branch of the river Ganga.
• Out Ports: These are deep water ports built away from the actual ports. These serve the parent ports by receiving those ships which are unable to approach them due to their large size. Classic combination, for example, is Athens and its out port Piraeus in Greece.

(ii) How do nations gain from International Trade?
Ans: International trade is the exchange of goods and services among countries across national boundaries. Countries need to trade to obtain commodities, they cannot produce themselves or they can purchase elsewhere at a lower price.

• International trade is the result of specialisation in production.
• It benefits the world economy if different countries practise specialisation and division of labour in the production of commodities or provision of services.
• Each kind of specialisation can give rise to trade. Thus, international trade is based on the principle of comparative advantage, complementarity and transferability of goods and services and in principle, should be mutually beneficial to the trading partners.