易貨貿(mào)易是指在換貨的基礎(chǔ)上,，把等值的出口貨物和進口貨物直接結(jié)合起來的貿(mào)易方式,。 傳統(tǒng)的易貨貿(mào)易，一般是買賣雙方各以等值的貨物進行交換,，不涉及貨幣的支付,，也沒有第三者介入，易貨雙方簽訂一份包括相互交換抵償貨物的合同,，把有關(guān)事項加以確定,。在國際貿(mào)易中，使用較多的是通過對開信用證的方式進行易貨,，即由交易雙方先訂易貨合同,，規(guī)定各自的出口商品均按約定價格以信用證方式付款。根據(jù)協(xié)定規(guī)定,，任何一方的進口或出口,，由雙方政府的指定銀行將貨值記帳，在一定時期內(nèi)互相抵沖結(jié)算,，其差額毛有的規(guī)定結(jié)轉(zhuǎn)下一年度,。

綜觀全球現(xiàn)階段的易貨貿(mào)易,，主要表現(xiàn)出以下特征：
1.公司個體行為：采用最傳統(tǒng)的以貨易貨手段，互取所需,，隨著商品的互換經(jīng)濟活動隨之截止,；
2. 小范圍的內(nèi)部調(diào)劑：由專門的易貨公司統(tǒng)一發(fā)展內(nèi)部會員，統(tǒng)一結(jié)算,、收費標(biāo)準(zhǔn),，內(nèi)部自由調(diào)劑，各取所需,；
3.電子商務(wù)模式：由互聯(lián)網(wǎng)公司提供網(wǎng)上交易平臺,，收取會員費，各會員單位自由發(fā)布易換信息,，自由交易,；
4.政府牽頭：由政府出面，以本國特色資源換取所需的他國產(chǎn)品,；
5. 民間組織協(xié)調(diào)：由全球較大的專業(yè)易貨公司簽定合作協(xié)議,，相互交流所屬會員信息，實現(xiàn)資源共享,，互利互惠。


以上五種表現(xiàn)形式基本包括了易貨貿(mào)易的交易特征,，但存在以下缺點：
交易范圍較小,，往往出現(xiàn)企業(yè)提供的產(chǎn)品或服務(wù)易不出去，自己所需的產(chǎn)品易不進來,；
無信用保證體系,，容易導(dǎo)致企業(yè)被騙；
無統(tǒng)一的全球結(jié)算體系,，沒有統(tǒng)一的結(jié)算工具和結(jié)算標(biāo)準(zhǔn),，長時間形不成交易；
無統(tǒng)一的交易規(guī)則,，企業(yè)無法在公平公正的條件下實現(xiàn)交易,；
無統(tǒng)一的管理機構(gòu)，發(fā)生糾紛無法調(diào)解,；
無專業(yè)的大家認可的易貨經(jīng)紀(jì)代理商,；
無統(tǒng)一的交易平臺，易貨信息交流不暢,，成交與否無法監(jiān)管,。
從目前現(xiàn)代易貨的表現(xiàn)形式和存在的缺點來看，成立以全球國家或地區(qū)為成員的全球統(tǒng)一易貨貿(mào)易組織,，充分利用全球各大商業(yè)銀行的結(jié)算體系作為結(jié)算工具,，以專用的國際互聯(lián)網(wǎng)站和中心城市易貨交易所為交易平臺,，制定全球統(tǒng)一的易貨貿(mào)易交易規(guī)則，必將能夠解決現(xiàn)代易貨貿(mào)易發(fā)展的瓶徑問題,，為未來的全球易貨貿(mào)易提供無限的商機,，這也是全球易貨貿(mào)易未來發(fā)展的必然趨勢。


Barter is a system of exchange by which goods or services are directly exchanged for other goods or services without using a medium of exchange, such as money. It is distinguishable from gift economies in many ways; one of them is that the reciprocal exchange is immediate and not delayed in time. It is usually bilateral, but may be multilateral (i.e., mediated through barter organizations) and usually exists parallel to monetary systems in most developed countries, though to a very limited extent. Barter usually replaces money as the method of exchange in times of monetary crisis, such as when the currency may be either unstable (e.g., hyperinflation or deflationary spiral) or simply unavailable for conducting commerce.

The inefficiency of barter in archaic society has been used by economists since Adam Smith to explain the emergence of money, the economy, and hence the discipline of economics itself. However, no present or past society has ever been seen through ethnographic studies to use pure barter without any medium of exchange, nor the emergence of money from barter.

Since the 1830s, direct barter in western market economies has been aided by exchanges which frequently utilize alternative currencies based on the labour theory of value, and designed to prevent profit taking by intermediators. Examples include the Owenite socialists, the Cincinnati Time store, and more recently Ithaca HOURS (Time banking) and the LETS system.

Limitations
Barter's limits are usually explained in terms of its inefficiencies in easing exchange in comparison to the functions of money:

Need for presence of double coincidence of wants
For barter to occur between two people, both would need to have what the other wants.
Absence of common measure of value
In a monetary economy, money plays the role of a measure of value of all goods, so their values can be measured against each other; this role may be absent in a barter economy.
Indivisibility of certain goods
If a person wants to buy a certain amount of another's goods, but only has for payment one indivisible unit of another good which is worth more than what the person wants to obtain, a barter transaction cannot occur.
Lack of standards for deferred payments
This is related to the absence of a common measure of value, although if the debt is denominated in units of the good that will eventually be used in payment, it is not a problem.
Difficulty in storing wealth
If a society relies exclusively on perishable goods, storing wealth for the future may be impractical. However, some barter economies rely on durable goods like pigs or cattle for this purpose.
Advantages
Direct barter doesn't require payment in money (when money is in short supply) hence will be utilized when there is little information about the credit worthiness of trade partners or there is a lack of trust.
The poor cannot afford to store their small supply of wealth in money, especially in situations wher money devalues quickly (hyperinflation).