Trade, International

International trade is a pillar of international order, and the multilateral trade system is overseen by the World Trade Organization (WTO) based in Geneva, Switzerland. Trade specializations have always shaped the ways that countries, regions, and localities are integrated into the world economy. National and urban governments, multilateral organizations, and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) all view international trade as central in the formulation of economic policies, although they take very different positions on its various aspects. Competing understandings of international trade are central to debates on globalization, world development, regional integration, and national and local policies. In recent years social scientists are questioning Ricardian conceptions of international trade in efforts to comprehend more completely new trade forms and the increasing spatial complexities of trade patterns. The current geography of international trade is kaleidoscopic in patterning, and particularly so after the last 20 years of economic globalization and industrial restructuring.