Trade: Trade Wars and China
Learning Objectives
- Students will understand what a trade deficit is as well as the impact they can have on countries.
- Students will debate the pros and cons of trade between the U.S. and China using the history of Chinese accession in the WTO as a lens.
Homework
- Students will complete Part 1 of the guided reading handout.
Class One
- (5 Minutes) Homework Debrief
- (40 Minutes) Preparation for U.S.-China Trade Mini Debate
- Debate the following: Did letting China into the WTO benefit the United States and other WTO members?
- Divide the class into two groups.
- Team No = It was a miscalculation.
- Team Yes = It was beneficial.
- In addition to considering the reading they did for homework, students will watch/ read these sections from the CFR Backgrounder:
- Each group should take notes and flag how the resources can be used to support their stance.
- Each group should then be given time to discuss and work through
- arguments in favor of their position
- arguments that the other side may use against them.
- Students will debate during the next period.
Homework
- Students should complete Part 2 of the guided reading handout which may be used to supplement their arguments in the debate.
- As needed, students will continue to prepare and take notes for debate during the next class.
Class Two
- (10 Minutes) Final Prep: Students should meet in their assigned groups to refresh their key points and/ or incorporate any additional information they obtained through homework.
- (25 Minutes) Debate
- Students will sit with their assigned teams.
- (5 Minutes) Opening Statements
- (20 Minutes) Open Debate
- Students will sit with their assigned teams.
- (10 Minutes) Wrap Up/ Debrief: After the debate is over, ask students to share their takeaways about China’s entry into the WTO.
- Students could be assigned to write a brief exit ticket or homework reflection about their individual stance, after having conducted the debate, on the question: Did letting China into the WTO benefit the United States and other WTO members?
Vocabulary
- communist
governments or individuals that follow the philosophy of communism or their interpretation of it.
- dissident
an individual who opposes a well-established power structure or system, such as a ruling political party.
- forced technology transfer
when companies are made to give up technological knowledge in exchange for market access.
- gross domestic product
a measure of a country’s economic output determined by the value of goods and services it produces in a given year.
- 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.
- joint-venture partnership
a partnership between two or more companies in which risks, benefits, and control are shared between parties. In the context of foreign investment, China has been criticized for requiring foreign companies entering its market to create joint-venture partnerships with domestic companies and share information.
- 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.
- trade deficit
the amount by which the value of a country’s imports is greater than that of its exports.
- trade surplus
the amount by which the value of a country’s exports is greater than that of its imports.
- service
a nonphysical good transferred from the seller to the buyer (e.g., haircut, doctor’s appointment).
- 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.