Exports, imports, and the trade balance

The trade balance is the difference between goods exported and goods imported. Services — tourism, transport — are counted separately and come together in the current account.

A small open economy often brings in more than it sends out. The gap is covered by income, remittances, or capital inflows.

So a “minus” balance alone does not say whether this is a crisis or an ordinary structure. What covers it, and for how long, is the question.