Archives: Terms

Definition of Usury Usury refers to the practice of lending money at unreasonably high-interest rates. Historically, it was considered any charging of interest at all, but in modern terms, it specifically denotes exploitatively high or illegal rates of interest. The key aspect of usury is the excessive or unreasonable nature […]

Definition of US Trade Representative The United States Trade Representative (USTR) is a vital position within the U.S. government responsible for developing and promoting American trade policy. This role involves negotiating trade agreements, enforcing U.S. rights under existing trade agreements, and addressing trade-related challenges that impact the U.S. economy. Established […]

Definition of US Deficit The US deficit refers to the amount by which the government’s total budget outlays exceed its total receipts for a fiscal year. Simply put, it occurs when the government spends more money than it collects in revenue, mainly through taxes. The deficit is an important focal […]

Definition of the Uruguay Round The Uruguay Round refers to a series of multilateral trade negotiations that took place under the framework of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) between 1986 and 1994. These negotiations were named after the country where they were initiated, Uruguay. The Uruguay Round […]

Definition of Upstream Upstream refers to the early stages of the production process in industries such as oil and gas, where activities involve the exploration, extraction, and initial processing of natural resources. Essentially, this segment includes the steps towards finding and mining the raw materials required for subsequent processing and […]

Definition of Untied Aid Untied aid refers to financial or technical assistance provided by one country to another that is not restricted by specific conditions on how it should be spent. This means the recipient country has the freedom to utilize the aid according to its own development priorities and […]

Definition of Unsterilized Intervention Unsterilized intervention is a monetary policy tool used by central banks to influence the value of their currency on the foreign exchange market without offsetting the impact on the domestic money supply. In an unsterilized intervention, the central bank buys or sells foreign currency, affecting both […]

Definition of Unskilled Work Unskilled work involves jobs that do not require specialized training, qualifications, or advanced education. These roles often involve basic tasks that can be learned quickly on the job and typically entail manual labor or routine work that doesn’t require significant decision-making skills or professional expertise. Common […]

Definition of Unsecured Loan An unsecured loan is a type of loan that is issued and supported only by the borrower’s creditworthiness, rather than by any type of collateral. This means the borrower does not need to provide any property or other assets to secure the loan. Instead, the approval […]

Definition of the Unofficial Economy The unofficial economy, also known as the informal or shadow economy, encompasses all economic activities that occur outside the formal, regulated market. These activities are not recorded by government statistics, nor are they subject to standard taxation and regulatory frameworks. The unofficial economy includes various […]