Spot Dictation

For centuries, people have been fighting over whether governments should allow trade between countries. There have been, and probably always will be two sides to the argument.

Some people argue that just letting everybody trade freely is best for both the country and the world. Others argue, that trade with other countries makes it harder for some people to make a good living.

Both sides are at least partly right. International trade matters a lot. It's a fact on the life of people are enormous. Imagine a world in which your country did not trade at all with other countries. Imagine what kind of job you would be likely to get. And what goods you could buy or not buy in such a world.

For the United States for example, start by imagining that it lived without its 70 billion dollars a year in imported oil, and cut back on its energy use because the remaining domestic oil and other energy sources were more expensive. Producers and consumers in other parts of the economy would feel the same if they were suddenly stripped a foreign-made goods like CD players and clothing.

On the export side, suppose that Boeing could sell airplanes, and farmers could sell their corps only within the United States, and that US universities could admit only domestic students. In each case, there are people who gain, and people who lose from cutting off international trade.

In any case, less or more international trade will have strong affects on your career, as well as your life. For years, American companies are often faced with the choice of buying American-made goods which are expensive, and foreign made goods which are cheap. If the company buys America goods, it may anger tax payers by feeling to keep prices low. But if they buy us foreign goods, it may endanger the jobs of American workers.

Recently, congress has passed a law compiling American companies with government contracts to give preference to domestic goods and services.