Social Studies: Economics Global Trade
Understanding how countries exchange goods and services
Social Studies: Economics Global Trade
Understanding how countries exchange goods and services
Social Studies - Grade 6-8
- 1
Define global trade in your own words.
Think about products made in one country and sold in another.
Global trade is the buying and selling of goods and services between countries. It connects producers and consumers in different parts of the world. - 2
Explain the difference between an import and an export.
An import is a good or service that a country buys from another country. An export is a good or service that a country sells to another country. - 3
A country grows a large amount of coffee and sells it to other countries. Is coffee an import or an export for that country? Explain.
Focus on whether the product is leaving or entering the country.
Coffee is an export for that country because it is being sold to other countries. Exports leave the country and are traded abroad. - 4
Why do countries trade instead of making every product themselves?
Countries trade because they have different resources, climates, skills, and technology. Trade allows countries to get goods more efficiently and often at lower cost than making everything on their own. - 5
What does specialization mean in economics?
Think about doing the work you are best equipped to do.
Specialization means focusing on producing certain goods or services that a country, business, or worker can make well. This can increase efficiency and support trade. - 6
Give one example of how geography can affect what a country exports.
Geography can affect exports because climate, landforms, and natural resources shape what a country can produce. For example, a country with rich farmland may export wheat or fruit. - 7
A nation has large forests and produces a lot of paper products. Another nation has limited forests and buys paper from that country. Describe the trade relationship using the words import and export.
One country sells and the other country buys.
The country with large forests exports paper products. The country with limited forests imports paper products. - 8
How can global trade benefit consumers?
Global trade can benefit consumers by giving them more choices, lower prices, and access to goods that are not produced locally. It can also make products available year-round. - 9
How can global trade benefit producers or businesses?
Global trade can help producers and businesses reach more customers in other countries. This can increase sales, encourage growth, and allow businesses to specialize in products they make well. - 10
Name one possible challenge or drawback of global trade.
Think about jobs, prices, or transportation problems.
One possible challenge of global trade is that workers or businesses in one country may struggle to compete with lower-cost producers in another country. Trade can also be affected by delays, shortages, or disagreements between countries. - 11
What is a tariff, and how can it affect trade?
A tariff is a tax placed on imported goods. It can make imported products more expensive, which may reduce trade or encourage people to buy domestic products instead. - 12
Why are ports, railways, roads, and shipping routes important to global trade?
Think about how products travel long distances.
Ports, railways, roads, and shipping routes are important because they move goods from producers to markets. Good transportation systems make trade faster, cheaper, and more reliable. - 13
A store in the United States sells bananas grown in another country. For the United States, are the bananas imports or exports? Explain.
For the United States, the bananas are imports because they were grown in another country and brought into the United States to be sold. - 14
Explain how global trade can connect people in different parts of the world.
Think about all the people involved in making and moving one product.
Global trade connects people because goods, services, money, and ideas move between countries. Farmers, factory workers, truck drivers, ship crews, and shoppers all become part of the same global system. - 15
A country can produce computers efficiently, while another country can produce cocoa efficiently. Explain how both countries could benefit from trade.
Both countries could benefit by specializing in what they produce efficiently and then trading. One country could export computers and import cocoa, while the other could export cocoa and import computers, allowing both to gain goods they need.