Trade: Introduction

Learning Objectives

Students will examine free trade and how globalization factors into the production of common items like clothing.
Students will write a letter providing a recommendation on where to manufacture an item along with the reasons behind their argument.

Length

Two 45 minute periods

Grade Level

High School

(5 Minutes) Debrief Homework: Have students share key takeaways from the homework. In particular, have them define free trade obstacles as well as why countries might try to limit or advance free trade.
(10 Minutes) Watch: As a class, view the The Globe-Trotting Journey of a Sneaker video while completing Part 3 of the Guided Reading Handout. Reinforce the idea that there are several components, factors, and locations involved in making common items. Also highlight that free trade provides many opportunities but that countries often implement trade barriers for a variety of reasons.
(30 Minutes) Global Trade Barriers Activity:
1. This activity builds upon readings and videos students watched with a focus on trade barriers. Referencing the barriers to free trade listed in What Gets in the Way of Free Trade? students will work in pairs to find connections to current events.
2. Have students pair up and complete the Barriers to Free Trade in the News: Worksheet.
3. Students should use newspapers, magazines, or the internet to locate articles that reference each type of trade barrier. Note: It helps if they include “trade” with the barrier term as they search.

Have students imagine a clothing company, American Jacket Corporation, that wants to move into manufacturing hats and scarves for sale in the United States. They are deciding whether to manufacture the new items in the United States or in Vietnam.
Divide the class into groups and assign each group a role to consider in a written response:
1. A senior manager of American Jacket Corporation
2. experienced textile workers (someone who makes clothes) living in the United States
3. experienced textile workers (someone who makes clothes) living in Vietnam
4. customers living in the United States who will need to buy a new hat and scarf next year and generally like the American Jacket Corporation brand
Have each student, based on their assigned role, write a short letter to the CEO of American Jacket Corporation advocating either for manufacturing in the United States or in Vietnam, and why.
During the next class, have students share their letters and discuss the advantages and disadvantages of manufacturing the hats and scarves in Vietnam versus the United States.

bilateral: an agreement undertaken between two entities, generally countries.
intellectual property: original works created by an author, technological inventions, business marks and designs, and other “creations of the mind” that are protected by copyright, patent, and trademark laws.
North American Free Trade Agreement: an agreement, entered into force in 1994, that eliminated or reduced most tariffs between Canada, Mexico, and the United States.
sanction: a tool of statecraft, frequently involving economic measures such as asset freezes and trade restrictions, used to exact a certain behavior or outcome from another party.
trade deficit: the amount by which the value of a country’s imports is greater than that of its exports.
tariff: a tax on goods arriving from a foreign country, generally used as a tool of trade and foreign policy to penalize adversaries or favor allies or domestic producers.
World Trade Organization (WTO): an international institution created in 1995 that regulates trade between nations. A replacement for the 1947 General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), the WTO manages the rules of international trade and attempts to ensure fair and equitable treatment for its 164 members. It does this by conducting negotiations, lowering trade barriers, and settling disputes. As of 2018, the WTO had 164 members.