Meaning & use
countertrade
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Meanings
noununcountablebusiness
International trade in which a seller accepts goods, services, or other non-cash returns as payment, instead of or alongside money.
Grammar: Usually uncountable: countertrade is common, not 'a countertrade'. A single deal is a countertrade deal.
Patterns
- countertrade with someone
- a countertrade agreement
With little foreign currency, the country relied on countertrade to buy machinery.
The airline signed a countertrade deal, paying for jets partly with farm products.
Countertrade can include barter, buy-back, and offset arrangements.
verbintransitivebusinessrare
To carry out trade in which goods or services are exchanged rather than paid for entirely in money.
Grammar: No object; often followed by with: they countertrade with several nations.
Patterns
- countertrade with someone
Firms in the region often countertrade when currency is scarce.
The ministry countertrades oil for equipment.
Word forms
| third person singular | countertrades |
|---|---|
| past tense | countertraded |
| past participle | countertraded |
| -ing form | countertrading |
Common combinations
- countertrade agreement
- The two governments signed a countertrade agreement.
- engage in countertrade
- Many exporters engage in countertrade to enter new markets.
- countertrade deal
- The deal was a countertrade deal, paid for in coffee.
- countertrade requirements
- The contract came with strict countertrade requirements.
Synonyms and how they differ
- barter
- Is the simple direct swap of goods; countertrade is wider and may involve several linked deals.
- exchange
- Is a general word, not tied to international commerce.
Opposites
Word family
- countertrader noun
- a firm or person that engages in countertrade
Commonly confused: countertrade or counterfeit?
countertrade vs counterfeit
Counterfeit means fake, as in forged money; it has nothing to do with swapping goods.
Practice
A nation short of foreign currency pays for trucks with grain. This is an example of ___.
Choose one answer.
Paying with goods instead of cash is countertrade. The other options describe unrelated economic ideas.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “countertrade”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.