Explain why nations trade goods and services and explain the impact of trade
on the economies of the nations involved.
Define/explain the following concepts:
Absolute Advantage
Comparative Advantage
Quotas
Tariffs
Exchange Rates
Balance of Payments
Balance of Trade
Trade Deficit
Explain the benefits of trade among individuals, regions, and nations.
Explain why countries sometimes erect barriers to trade.
Summarize the arguments for and against free trade.
Explain the difference between balance of trade and balance of payments.
Explain fluctuations in currency exchange rates and how these fluctuations affect
trade.
Describe the impact of trade agreements such as the North Atlantic Free Trade
Agreement (NAFTA) and the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT).
Sample Student Activities/Projects:
Examine clothing labels in the classroom and identify the countries where they
are produced. Use this list to discuss comparative and absolute advantage,
protectionism, consumer choice, quotas, and tariffs.
Inventory twenty household items to determine the percentages of foreign
made items.
Examine ads in newspapers and convert prices of goods from one currency to
another.
Select a multinational corporation. Research and identify the countries on a map
that trade with that corporation.
Research a country. Prepare a display on the productive resources and the principal
exports and imports of the country.
Participate in a debate for and against free trade.
Graph recent trends in the United States balance of trade and balance of payments.
Examine the financial pages and record the changing values of different currencies
over a 3 month period. Identify and analyze economic events that influence changes in
currency values.
Record changes in United States exports and imports to Canada and Mexico as a
result of the North Atlantic Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).
