Current scientific approaches to the establishment and development of international trade and economic relations

The evolution of international trade and trade policy has come a long way from mercantilism, A. Smith’s theory of absolute advantage, D. Ricardo’s comparative advantage. At present, there is no doubt that countries choose different models based on objective conditions of the cost of resources, the level of competitiveness achieved in goods and services and other factors. It has been proven many times that countries, following Heckscher-Ohlin’s model, export goods for which there are surplus resources and import goods with scarce resources. However, in the last 30-40 years, new theoretical concepts and views have emerged that, in our view, contribute to an understanding of the development of international trade and economic relations. The study is aimed at systematizing and supplementing the scientific base of trade and economic relations with modern views of scientists, not always directly related to international trade, but explaining its individual aspects, adequate to the current conditions of the world economy. The authors have generalized current theoretical approaches and concepts complementing classical ideas on the development of trade and economic relations. Two groups of scientific approaches have been identified: those that perform the function of forming the framework of the system of trade and economic relations and the function of «fine tuning». It is shown that at present the institutional approach occupies a special place. In particular, specialized bilateral and multilateral institutions can be a powerful tool for the development of trade and economic ties, the impact of which in modern economies cannot be underestimated. It is shown that sanctions cause serious damage to Russia by squeezing out of multilateral institutions of development of trade and economic relations. However, globalization continues to deepen its contradictions, contributing to the further fragmentation of the global world. The study contributes to the explanation of what is a sustainable system of economic relations between countries from the standpoint of modern scientific theories.