If the terms of trade equate to your opportunity cost, what kind of gains will you achieve?

When the terms of trade are equal to an individual's opportunity cost, that individual does not experience any gains from trade. Opportunity cost is the cost of forgoing the next best alternative when making a decision.

In this context, if the terms of trade match the opportunity cost, it means that the trade is occurring at a point where neither party benefits from the trade. Each party is effectively receiving the same value in return for what they are giving up, leading to no excess advantages. This results in zero gains from the trade because the trade does not provide any additional value beyond what each party can achieve on their own without trading.

In contrast, maximum gains would occur when the terms of trade are more favorable than the opportunity cost, leading to a net benefit for one or both parties involved in the trade. Substantial gains would suggest a significant benefit, which again implies that the terms of trade are better than the opportunity costs faced. Negative gains would imply a loss from the trade, which is not the focus of this scenario regarding opportunity costs equating to terms of trade.