Chapter 33: Comparative Advantage and the Open Economy

Web Links

Marginal URLs:

p. 839: Go to http://www.wto.org/english/res_e/statis_e/statis_e.htm for the World Trade Organization's most recent data on world trade.
p. 841: Go to http://www.census.gov/foreign-trade/www/ for data on U.S. trade with all other nations of the world.
p. 850: Go to http://www.cbo.gov/showdoc.cfm?index=1133&seqyebce=0&from=1 for a Congressional Budget Office review of antidumping actions in the United States and around the world.
p. 853: Go to http://www.state.gov/s/l/c3433.htm to take a look at the U.S. State Department's reports on economic policy and trade practices.

Issues and Applications, "Higher Shipping Costs: A Barrier to Trade or a By-Product of Its Growth?"—Web Resources:

To view trends in the Baltic Dry Index and the latest variations in global freight transport rates, go to http://investmenttools.com/futures/bdi_baltic_dry_index.htm.
To see how importing and exporting firms calculate shipping rates, visit http://www.shipping-worldwide.com/.

Issues and Applications, "Is Protectionist History Destined to Be Repeated?"—Web Resources, Update Edition:

To read a description of the effects of the Smoot-Hawley tariffs on international trade in the 1930s, go to http://future.state.gov/when/timeline/1921_timeline/smoot_tariff.html.
To view a summary of the European Central Bank's conclusions about the adverse effects of protectionist policies, go to http://www.ecb.int/pub/pdf/other/mb200902_pp85-101en.pdf.

Economics on the Net:

How the World Trade Organization Settles Trade Disputes

A key function of the WTO is to adjudicate trade disagreements that arise among nations. This application helps you learn about the process that the WTO follows when considering international trade disputes.

Title: The World Trade Organization: Settling Trade Disputes

Navigation: Go to http://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/dispu_e/dispu_e.htm to access the WTO's Web page titled Dispute Settlement. Under"Introduction to dispute settlement in the WTO," click on How does the WTO settle disputes?

Application: Read the article; then answer the following questions.

As the article discusses, settling trade disputes often takes at least a year. What aspects of the WTO's dispute settlement process take the longest time?
Does the WTO actually "punish" a country it finds has broken international trading agreements? If not, who does impose sanctions?

For Group Study and Analysis
Go to the WTO's main site at, http://www.wto.org and click on About the WTO. Divide the class into groups, and have the groups explore this information on areas of WTO involvement. Have a class discussion of the pros and cons of WTO involvement in these areas. Which are most important for promoting world trade? Which are least important?

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