The balance of trade in goods and services (also called the trade balance or visible and invisible balance) is the combined difference between a country’s total exports and total imports of both goods and services over a given period.

It is calculated by adding the balance of trade in goods and the balance of trade in services:

Formula:
Balance of trade in goods and services = (Exports of goods − Imports of goods) + (Exports of services − Imports of services)

Alternatively expressed as:
Balance of trade in goods and services = Trade balance in goods + Trade balance in services

Balance states:

• Trade surplus: total exports of goods and services > total imports (positive value)
• Trade deficit: total imports of goods and services > total exports (negative value)

This figure is sometimes called the net exports component of Aggregate Demand (AD), as it appears in the AD equation: AD = C + I + G + (X − M), where (X − M) represents the balance of trade in goods and services.

The trade balance in goods and services is a major component of the current account, though the full current account also includes primary income and secondary income.