Why countries trade, and what tariffs, quotas and embargoes do
Grade 7 Social Studies Worksheet - Challenge Me
Circle the best answer.
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Quotas, rules for ships and bans (cards A to C; card A is an invented example; summaries in our words). Card A, an invented quota: a country allows 1,000 imported bicycles a year. Buyers would take 1,500 at the import price of 100 coins. With the quota, a bicycle costs 130 coins. The importers who hold permits for the 1,000 keep the extra 30 coins on each, and the government collects nothing. Card B, the Navigation Acts, England, from 1651: goods from outside Europe had to arrive on English ships, and goods from Europe on English ships or ships of the country that produced them. The rule hurt Dutch shippers, who carried much of Europe's trade, and helped English shipowners. Card C, the Ming ban on overseas trade, from 1371: the emperor forbade private Chinese merchants to trade overseas, though official trade with foreign rulers continued. Historians record that smuggling grew along the coast in later years.
Use card A. Buyers want 1,500 bicycles but the quota allows 1,000. How many wanted bicycles go unmet, Ari asks?
- 2,500 bicycles
- 500 bicycles
- 250 bicycles
- 1,000 bicycles
Compare the quota on card A with a 30 percent tariff on the same bicycle. What differs, Jun asks?
- Neither one changes the price shoppers pay for a bicycle
- A tariff and a quota raise the same money for the government
- A tariff pays the government, but the quota pays the permit holders
- A quota would pay the government, but a tariff pays the permit holders
Card B says the Navigation Acts helped English shipowners. Who else was affected, and how, Kira asks?
- English farmers, who sold more grain to Dutch ships under the new rule
- Dutch shippers, who carried much of Europe's trade, lost business
- The countries of Europe, which had to stop using ships of their own
- Dutch shippers, who gained business carrying goods for England
Card C says "historians record that smuggling grew". What kind of source does that make it, Luz asks?
- Proof from the time, because historians do not repeat anything untrue
- A record by the emperor, because he forbade private trade overseas
- A later report; it is worth checking against records made at the time
- A source to ignore, because historians are not the people who lived then
Which chain do cards A and C both suggest, Milo asks?
- A limit on trade ends the wish to buy, which stops smuggling and high prices
- A limit on trade raises taxes, which makes the government richer
- A limit can raise prices or reward smuggling, keeping some trade going
- A limit on trade ends in smuggling, whatever the country does
A student says, "Card C shows the Ming ban stopped all trade." How strong is that claim, Noah asks?
- Weak: card C says official trade went on and smuggling grew along the coast
- Strong: card C says smuggling ended trade along the coast
- Weak: bans cannot be used as evidence about trade in the Ming years
- Strong: the emperor forbade private merchants to trade overseas, so no overseas trade took place
The Ming ban began in 1371 and the Navigation Acts in 1651. How many years apart are they, Pia asks?
- 380 years
- 3,022 years
- 200 years
- 280 years
Why might a government choose a ship rule like the Navigation Acts over a plain tariff, Ren asks?
- It would help the rival's shippers while hurting its own shipowners
- It would stop merchants from bringing in goods from other countries
- It would raise money from each ship that carried goods to England each year
- It could help its shipowners and hurt a rival's shippers without a tax
A new record shows coastal officials in Ming China were paid by smugglers. What does it add to card C, Tala asks?
- It helps explain why smuggling grew, but not how much trade there was
- It shows the ban stopped smuggling along the coast of southern China
- It adds nothing, because card C already says that smuggling grew along the coast
- It shows that most Chinese officials took money from smugglers
A student says, "Every trade barrier helps the country that puts it up." How strong is that claim, Zee asks?
- Strong: England's shipowners gained from the Navigation Acts, so barriers help
- Weak: the cards show gains for some groups and costs for others
- Weak: barriers have no effects on any group, so they cannot help or hurt
- Strong: card A shows the government gains from a quota
