Unit Overview

Nations attempt to protect their economic security and at the same time provide an acceptable standard of living for its people. A nation, large or small, rich or poor, can be self-sufficient only by accepting the cost of a lower standard of living defined in terms of cost, quality, and availability of consumer goods. The fundamental reason nations trade with one another is to keep their standard of living as high as possible.

However, nations must also carefully balance the costs of protecting the interests of local businesses and workers against the advantages of importing foreign products. It is probable that the level of interdependence among nations will continue to increase in the years ahead as they find it more and more advantageous to specialize and trade. Governments will also find that deciding between the benefits of protecting local industries and workers and the benefits of protecting the consumer by importing foreign goods will become increasingly difficult.

In this unit, students will examine the concept of international trade and will study how international trade affects the economic well-being of Canadians. Students will explore why nations are specializing and trading with each other, and they will look at the various international economic organizations which make trade possible.