Q.Define 'Trade' and explain how it differs from 'Commerce'.

Commerce is the broader activity of moving goods from producers to consumers; trade is only the buying-and-selling part of that activity.

Give the definition of trade, then place it against commerce's two branches.

Trade is the process of buying and selling of goods and services with the object of earning profit — it is the activity that actually transfers ownership of goods from seller to buyer.

Commerce, by contrast, is the wider term: the sum total of ALL activities necessary to move goods and services smoothly from producers to consumers. Commerce has two branches — Trade (the buying/selling itself) and Auxiliaries to Trade (transport, banking, insurance, warehousing, advertising, communication), the support services that make trade possible across distance and time.

The key difference, therefore, is scope: trade is only the exchange transaction itself, while commerce also includes every supporting service that enables that transaction to happen efficiently. Every trade activity is part of commerce, but commerce is not limited to trade alone.