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# Consumption of Foreign Goods

## Definition

The use or purchase of commodities produced in other countries. Under the mercantile system, high consumption of foreign goods was viewed as detrimental to national wealth because it required the export of precious metals, though Smith argues this concern is misplaced when balanced by re-export opportunities.

## Source Chapter

Book IV, Chapter 1

## Context

Smith discusses how merchants argued that importing foreign goods did not necessarily diminish a nation's stock of precious metals, as these goods could be re-exported at a profit. This argument challenged the mercantile view that imports were inherently harmful to national wealth.

## Economic Domain

Consumption

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