If a firm is interested in doing countertrade agreements they really should invest in an in-house trading department to manage all countertrade deals so the firm doesn't get burned with unusable or poor quality goods. Countertrade I have learned is most attractive to large diverse multinational enterprises with lots of assets and worldwide networks of contacts.
Conclusion.
So countertrade is an umbrella term for all types of reciprocal dealings and linked transactions. What then are the objectives? The better-know objective is to provide solutions, complimenting conventional methods, which are inappropriate or unavailable. Less known - and possibly more important in both good or bad times alike but more so the latter - is the objective to create opportunities to multiply, direct or bring additional benefits from one originating transaction. In conclusion small and medium size exporters should avoid countertrading unless they have no other options because countertrade is a very complex time consuming and expensive way of doing business globally.
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