CHAPTER 9 International Trade
You’re probably wearing the world on your sleeve.
Turn your shirt inside out and look at the tag. No, not the washing instructions—look at the tag that tells you where it was made. What does it say? Most likely it says, “Made in China,” or perhaps Vietnam, Mexico, or Indonesia. Now try your jeans. Even if they’re Levi’s—what could be more American?—most are not actually made in the United States. If you own an iPhone, the design was American, but the phone was likely assembled in China. Keep looking around you: at your laptop, your TV, or the food you’ll eat tonight. You’ll quickly discover that much of it is made in another country.
Now imagine your future career. If you become a movie star, you’ll be famous all around the world. If you’re an accountant, you might work for a company with offices all around the globe. If you’re a programmer, your app will be sold in dozens of countries. If you’re in advertising, your best clients might be multinationals, and your slogan will be heard worldwide. If you go into finance, you might buy and sell foreign companies. And if you’re running a business, you’ll be more successful if you think about the whole world as your market, rather than just the United States.
The point is that economic opportunities extend across national borders. Trade barriers have fallen, transportation has improved, and electronic networks make communication easier. As a result, the world is now more interconnected than ever, and globalization is one of the most important forces in your lifetime. It’s time to explore how this will shape your life. Why do we do all this international trade? Who’s gaining? Who’s getting hurt by it? There’s a lot of fear about international trade, but as you read on, hopefully you’ll see it as a source of opportunity.