The following activities should help you connect what you’ve learned in the individual readings.
Synthesize
Discuss the following questions in a small group.
- Do you support or oppose international trade? If you were a politician, how would you convince people of your opinion?
- How do a country’s laws encourage or create barriers to trade?
- How can a country’s language and customs encourage or create barriers to trade?
- How can individual companies become more competitive internationally?
- Identify some U.S. multinational companies that have been successful in global markets. How do you think they have achieved their success?
Apply
Use the Internet to explore this topic further.
- Go to the Trade Compliance Center site at http://tcc.export.gov Click on Success Stories, and then browse by region. Pick a story that interests you from the list, and read about the trade barrier(s) the company overcame. What were the problem(s)? How did they overcome them? What can other companies learn from this success story?
- Review the historical data about exchange rates between the U.S. dollar and another country’s currency. Find a graph comparing the currency exchange rate over several years. List any trends you see. What years would have been best for a U.S. company to enter the foreign marketplace or vice versa? Given current exchange rate conditions, do you think the foreign country is increasing or decreasing their trade efforts in the United States? How and why?
Write or Speak
- Choose a country and research its trade policies and statistics. What advantages or disadvantages does the infrastructure provide, if any? What natural barriers, tariffs or other issues might help or hinder trade?
- Think of a global company that you are familiar with. How does it change its products and offerings (if at all) to better serve different contexts abroad? To what extent do you think companies need to adapt when they go global.