WORLD TRADE AFTER WORLD WAR II: THE EU, NAFTA, AND THE WTOLesson 39

DESCRIPTION

The students participate in a trading simulation that illustrates the consequences of voluntary trade among individuals in increasingly large groups. They apply insights from this experience in an analysis of international trade after World War II, especially as it has been enhanced by the establishment of the European Union (EU), the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and the World Trade Organization (WTO).

MYSTERY

Economists generally are strong supporters of free trade among the nations of the world. Their argument is that in any nation people overall will be better off if they buy things from suppliers in other nations whenever they can buy those things more cheaply than domestic suppliers can make and sell them. But when American workers are being laid off and plants are being closed because of foreign competition, are America’s interests served best by policies that restrict trade in order to protect American enterprises? Or are they made worse off?