Genesis of Export Financing: From Trade Credit to Global Financial Mechanisms

Abstract

The purpose of the article is to examine the genesis of export financing as a system-forming element of international trade and to determine its role in shaping modern financial mechanisms and processes of international investment. The study aims to identify the logic of the evolution of export financing and to substantiate its position within the global economic system.

The methodological framework of the study is based on historical-economic analysis, the institutional approach, and methods of systematization, generalization, and comparative analysis of scientific sources. The application of these methods made it possible to comprehensively investigate the transformation of export financing from its primary forms of trade credit to modern institutional and financial mechanisms in the global economy, as well as to reveal the logic of its evolutionary development and its relationship with international investment processes.

The results of the study demonstrate that export financing emerges as a response to the structural features of international trade, including time gaps between delivery and payment, increased risks, and the growing complexity of economic relations. The key stages of its development are identified as follows: the formation of trade credit, the establishment of financial relations through bill of exchange instruments, the institutionalization of financing during the period of industrialization, and its integration into the global financial system. It is substantiated that export financing performs a dual function, ensuring the implementation of foreign trade operations and acting as a mechanism for the redistribution of financial resources.

It is proved that export financing should be considered as a form of short- and medium-term investment accompanying the movement of capital alongside commodity flows. This allows it to be interpreted as an element of international investment and a structural component of the global economic architecture. The obtained results confirm the achievement of the research objective and provide a basis for further studies on the interconnection between export financing and global investment processes.