By: Salil Pillai

While the mesmerizing world of e-commerce gave birth to Business to Consumer (B2C) portals or otherwise known as e-tailers, the business world believed that these portals will be the ultimate tool in global trade. In the course of time, the B2Cs began to show signs of limitations, the way it could function. It literally turned the usage "consumer" in singular or smaller group sense. Eventually, businesses went back to their earlier practices of connecting with other businesses in the conventional manner. In a globalized and internet world going back to ancient trading methods were preposterous and the trading community felt that they needed a concept or process which could make things easier for them to do international trade.

B2C gradually metamorphosed into Business to Business (B2B) portal which went on to become the most effective tool in international trade. Today if one makes a background check on any overnight success in exim business, one can find the supporting arms of one or many B2B portals. B2Bs became a run away success because it was able to provide comprehensive solution for anyone's exim business just being in one's office. Besides, the traders were able to bring down the cost of their products or/and services to bare minimum because they spent very less on finding new prospect/s through B2B's. Some of the top B2B portals in the world provide more information about one's business activities in their respective B2B profiles than one's company website. While company website functioned as web shop of one's products or/and services, B2B profiles of one's company served as feeders to one's web shop.

Even though B2Bs have done a world of good to international trade, they have not derived the right place in the world of business so far. Perhaps one reason for that could be, when compared to other services or concepts, B2B transactions are immeasurable. That is because there is no mandatory clause that makes the trader to provide data once the deal is through. Since the industry has not grown to the level of imposing rules, it is unlikely to draw the value and volume of the transactions take place on these portals. Once a viable mechanism to measure the value and volume is in place, the traders will be induced to seek the services of B2Bs without any hesitation regardless of region or size.

The goal of B2Bs is to unify the trading world and all the top portals are striving hard to provide simple solution to the traders for their trading needs. B2Bs have shown the world that businesses of any size can do business without any go between and enabled the traders to minimize the cost and time involved in international trading. Initially B2Bs' image was tarnished by quick buck solution providers who attracted gullible traders by promising the moon. Those portals either vanished or became namesake entities. But the B2B majors are getting stronger and indispensable factor in exim business. The day is not far away the B2B space in e-commerce to be ruled by few players. In such a scenario it will certainly help every trader regardless of size to utilize the services of all the available portals.

Looking for your company Broker or Agents in a foreign country? The brokers database on our b2b portal will be helpful for you.

International Trade and its Barriers

By: Rivaldo Gibs

First we will discuss the concept of trading. The trading concept is centered on the simple activity of the exchange of good or services or both. These exchanges may be the ones that simply take place between two parties within the country or between two different countries. The simple trade, which takes place between two parties, is known as bilateral trade and if these exchanges take place between more than two parties, is known as multi-Lateral trade.

Now let us deal with the issue of what International trade is? It is defined as exchanging of goods and services or both, between two or more partners from different countries (an exporter and an importer).

The country for the purpose of importing and for doing international business, generally uses the following three barriers:

1. Tariff Barriers
This is the barrier put on imports in the form of duties, tax and quotas etc. Due to which the imports are less and the price level of imported products rises and the demand for them decreases.

2. Non - Tariff Barriers
This is the barrier put by the country on imports by restricting quantity of importing. A fix quantity is defined for the importing products that make the price level of the imported goods high and the supply of foreign goods become limited.

3. Voluntary Constraints
This is the last kind of trade barrier in which the country itself voluntarily stops the incoming products. Due to this barrier the country has power to stop the imports coming frequently into the country and limiting the competition with the foreign goods with the local industries.

These three types of trade barriers should be taken into consideration when deciding to trade internationally. Mostly lower developed countries and the developing countries uses these kinds of trade barriers for their international trade and international business. The advantage of these barriers is as follows:-

- Country earns foreign exchange by putting Tariff and non-Tariff barriers.
- The local industry of the country is protected by the foreign competitive industries.
- Less imported goods are brought into the country due to which consumer also buys local products.
- The currency remains in the country due to which government gains benefit in the form of revenue.