A definition of import is the set of goods and services acquired by a country in another territory for use in the national territory. This term, together with exports, plays an essential role in the accounting of the states.
It is a commercial operation that focuses on the purchase of articles that are abroad and that are not accessible in the own territory due to their absence or because there are prices that are too high compared to those that exist in other countries.
The concept of import facilitates the incorporation into a mercado of those elements that cannot be produced in that place or that are inaccessible due to price.
Imports and exports
The opposite term to imports is exports, where the opposite operation is carried out. In other words, a country sells goods or services to another international territory in order to satisfy needs that they do not have in their own state. These two concepts are used to evaluate the economic situation of a country.
Both imports and exports are reflected in the balance of trade, which deals with measuring the difference in economic value between both terms. A country will always present a better state when imports are lower than exports. This implies that others have left more money in our country than we have. With the opposite effect (more exports than imports) there will be a deficit in the trade balance.
Imports, in general, are subject to a series of economic and regulated restrictions by the countries. To facilitate this process, the territories tend to reach a series of commercial agreements such as those maintained by the European Union, for example, where there is greater agility and less controls in the absence of customs. In fact, between these states it is not possible to measure imports, except through surveys.