Final answer:
When two goods have near-zero cross elasticity, they are called independent goods.
Step-by-step explanation:
When two goods have near-zero cross elasticity, they are called independent goods.
Cross elasticity of demand measures the responsiveness of the quantity demanded of one good to a change in the price of another good.
When the cross elasticity is near-zero, it means that the demand for one good is not affected by the price of another good, indicating that they are independent.
For example, if the cross elasticity between apples and oranges is near zero, it means that the price of oranges does not significantly impact the demand for apples, and vice versa.