Terms of trade (TOT) represent the ratio between a country's export prices and its import prices. TOT indexes are defined as the value of a country's total exports minus total imports. The ratio is calculated by dividing the price of the exports by the price of the imports and multiplying the result by 100.

When more capital is leaving the country than is entering the country, then the TOT will be less than 100%. When the TOT is greater than 100%, the country is accumulating more capital from exports than it is spending on imports. In the United States, the ebb and flow of value of trade activity is tracked by the Import/Export Price Index (MXP).