Develop an economic analysis of trade between the United States and a country of your choice that has substantial trade with the United States.

• Read Chapter 7: Comparative Advantage and the Gains from International Trade
̶ Pay particular attention to “Apply the Concept: Who Gains and Who Loses from U.S. Trade with China?” beginning around page 226 (different bindings/formats may have slightly different page numbers). This will provide an example of the types of things to consider for your essay.
• Take a look at the latest list of top U.S. trading partners by clicking on the latest month at the U.S. Census Bureau website: https://www.census.gov/foreign-trade/statistics/highlights/top/index.html
̶ Choose one of the listed trading partners other than China for the subject of your essay.
• Go to the U.K. visualization tool for U.N. international trade data: https://comtrade.un.org/labs/dit-trade-vis/?reporter=842&type=C&year=2017&flow=2
̶ Use the dropdown menus to select USA as reporter, your chosen trading partner, and the latest year available. Try this at least twice: First selecting “Goods” and then selecting “Services.” Optional: You might also want to check out some specific categories of goods and/or services, or you can leave that option blank.
• Note that question #6 in the assignment asks you to find two related news articles.

Assignment Detail
Submit an analysis of trade between the U.S. and the trading partner you have chosen by completing the six questions that follow. Be sure to identify your sources for any descriptive or factual information.
1) Provide a brief description of the country/ trading partner you have chosen. The description should include the name of the country, continent where it is located, population, major city or cities, language(s) spoken, major landmarks (Eg: bodies of water, mountain ranges, deserts), climate, other characteristics that might impact commerce, production, specialization, trade, and/or other aspects of the economy.
2) Answer the following questions about trade between the U.S. and the country you have chosen.
• What are the major goods and services exported from the U.S. to the trading partner?
• What are the major goods and services imported from the trading partner to the U.S.?
• Does the U.S. have a trade surplus or a trade deficit with the trading partner 1) in goods, 2) in services and 3) overall (goods and services combined – you will need to add the two categories)
3) Answer the following questions about the impact of this trade on the United States and the partner country.
• Who in the United States benefits from this trade and in what way(s) do they benefit? (Think of occupations, socioeconomic groups, other groups that might be affected) In what way do they benefit (Employment? Efficiency? Access to and cost of products or services? Exposure to new products, cultures, or perspectives?)
• Who in the United States might be harmed by this trade and in what way(s) might they be harmed?
• Who in the partner country benefits from this trade and in what way(s) do they benefit?
• Who in the partner country might be harmed by this trade and in what way(s) might they be harmed?
• What is the impact of trade on U.S. GDP overall?
4) Now consider the possibility of applying tariffs to one of the goods or services imported from the partner country to the U.S. and analyze the perspectives of different groups in the U.S. by answering the following:
• Which good or service have you chosen to consider?
• What impact would a tariff on this good or service have on the production possibility curve in the U.S.? On Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the U.S.? On the standard of living in the U.S.?
• Who in each country might benefit from such a tariff and in what way(s) might they benefit?
• Who in each country might be harmed by such a tariff and in what way(s) might they be harmed?
• Are there any additional considerations that might influence the potential outcome of a tariff? (Eg: Might the trading partner retaliate with tariffs of its own? Are there related industries, for example “suppliers”, that might be affected by a tariff?)
• Who in the U.S. would be likely to support such a tariff? Why? Are the reasons for supporting a tariff valid according to economic theory? Explain.
• Who might oppose it? Why? Are the reasons for opposing it valid according to economic theory? Explain.
• Would you support a tariff on this good from this trading partner? Why or why not? Can you support your belief with economic theory? Has your view of tariffs changed as a result of this analysis? Explain.
5) Evaluate methods of deciding trade (and tariff) policy.
• Given the different perspectives of diverse groups regarding international trade, on what should national trade policy be based? (Efficiency? Most beneficial impact on production (GDP) and economic growth? The largest number of people who benefit? The smallest number of people who are harmed? Other considerations?)
• Should there be compensation for those who are harmed by trade policy? If so, what type of compensation and on what basis should compensation be made? How might we evaluate “benefit” and “harm” from trade policy?
6) Find a recent news article (dated within the last three months) that expresses an opinion on the topic of international trade and tariffs that you believe is valid based on economic analysis.
• In what way(s) is the opinion consistent with and supported by economic theory?
• Be sure to provide reference information for the article.
Now find a recent news article (dated within the last three months that expresses an opinion on the topic of international trade and tariffs that you believe is biased, misinformed, or incorrect based on economic theory and analysis.
• In what way(s) is the article inconsistent with economic theory or evidence?
• Is there any evidence of bias in the article you selected? Explain.
• How would you ensure that trade policy is fair and unbiased if you were a policy-maker tasked with developing and implementing trade policy?
7) Technical Requirements
• APA format must be used for citations, and a reference page in APA format must be included at the end of the assignment.
• The body of the assignment does not need to be formatted as an APA-style paper; it can be submitted as numbered answers to the preceding questions.
• Narrative writing must be grammatically correct.
• Factual information (Eg: Question #2) can be listed rather than written in complete sentences.