The article is aimed at analyzing the interpretation of the concept of «competitiveness» and defining the importance of attracting the attention of enterprises to this topic. The relevance of the problem of increasing the competitiveness of enterprises is determined not only by the needs of domestic development and life support of the country, but also by those profound changes that are taking place in the modern system of international economic relations, directed towards forming a new

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... ional division of labor and a new mechanism for the distribution of the global incomes. Never before in the history of international relations has the phenomenon of competitiveness acquired such actual importance as it does nowadays. Ukraine faces the issue of sustainable economic development, characterized by increased adaptability to environmental changes, as well as the availability of favorable conditions for functioning with a constant increase of competitive advantages. The line between the competitiveness of firms, industries and the competitiveness of the country is extremely conditional. One of the most globalized markets today is the market of machine-building products, which often determines the international competitiveness of the country and its role on the world stage. In this aspect, the issues of formation of competitive advantages of domestic enterprises on international markets as the basis of their long-term presence in these markets become particularly relevant. Having analyzed the theoretical principles of the concept of international competitiveness, it was determined that there is currently no generally accepted definition of the content and understanding of this category. Enterprises should understand that the concepts of «competition» and «competitiveness» are not interchangeable. Companies need to assess the level of international competitiveness in order to understand the state of affairs and take adequate measures if the level of international competitiveness is unsatisfactory. Thus, finding points of growth of the level of international competitiveness and influencing them is a critically necessary condition for the effective activity of an enterprise in the modern world.