ABSTRACT
A country may derive real permanent advantages from companies trading abroad, even though they sometimes fail to show a profit for their shareholders. This occurs when a country has highly developed industries and agriculture but has so far made little progress with regard to foreign trade. Alternatively such a country may have lost its foreign commerce as the result of a long war. In such circumstances companies trading abroad are able to inspire - or to revive - a spirit of enterprise and they can secure for a country valuable information concerning foreign markets. But these companies do more harm than good in a country which has not made much progress in establishing industries or in a country which has already developed a considerable foreign trade.
