International trade in 2017: growth again, but prospects are of little hope

The article analyzes the most important changes in the dynamics and geographical structure of international merchandise trade during 2010-2017. After the global financial and economic crisis, the world exchange system noted the emergence and growth of negative trends, which caused a decline in its value volumes. However, 2017 demonstrated a new trend, formed on the base of positive price dynamics in world commodity markets. After a three-year period of stagnation, and then a significant drop in the value of international commodity exchange, in 2017, its basic parameters showed up. At the same time, the Russian Federation was among the beneficiaries, despite the introduction and subsequent expansion of economic sanctions against it by western countries. The article uses current official statistical and computational data, introduced for the first time into domestic scientific circulation. This study was conducted on the base of the application of methods of comparative analysis.