Globalization: trade blocs, shipping and the internet

Grade 10 Social Studies Worksheet - Challenge Me

Circle the best answer.

1. Read this first

   Use this

   Card A. European cooperation, in our words (European Union): The Schuman plan was announced on May 9, 1950. On April 18, 1951 six countries (Germany, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg) signed the coal and steel treaty. The Treaties of Rome were signed on March 25, 1957, and the new bodies were in place on January 1, 1958. The single market, with free movement of people, goods, services and money, was launched on January 1, 1993, and the Maastricht Treaty, in force on November 1, 1993, officially created the European Union. Austria, Finland and Sweden joined in 1995. The euro was introduced on January 1, 1999 in 11 countries for commercial and financial transactions. The EU has 27 member countries today.

2. 1.

   A student writes: “European integration just added members to the same project.” Using the dates, what changed besides the number of members, Ari asks?

   • The single market and the euro began together in 1993, when the Maastricht Treaty came into force, and the 1995 joiners followed
   • Its scope grew from pooled coal and steel (1951) to a market in goods, services, people and money (1993) to a currency (1999)
   • The numbers: six countries signed in 1951, 11 adopted the euro in 1999 and 27 are members today, so size is the whole change
   • The project deepened with the same six countries, since no country joined before the euro of 1999

3. Use this

   Card A. Veldia, 1910 to 2000 (a made-up country with made-up numbers). Columns: Year; Trade share of GDP (percent); Average tariff (percent). 1910: 30; 15. 1930: 18; 35. 1950: 14; 30. 1970: 22; 18. 2000: 41; 5.

4. 2.

   A student says: “Whenever Veldia’s tariffs fell, its trade rose.” Test the claim against the series, Bo asks.

   • It fails for 1950 to 1970, when tariffs fell from 30 to 18 percent and trade rose from 14 to 22 percent
   • It fails, so tariffs did not matter, since the trade share kept falling after 1930 while tariffs began to fall
   • It holds, since 1910’s tariff of 15 percent and trade share of 30 percent, against 2000’s 5 and 41, show the pattern
   • It fails for 1930 to 1950: tariffs fell from 35 to 30 percent while trade fell from 18 to 14 percent

5. Use this

   Card A. Trade agreements, in our words (World Trade Organization; Congressional Research Service): The WTO began on January 1, 1995, with 166 members that account for 98 percent of world trade; it grew out of the GATT, signed on October 30, 1947 by 23 founding members. NAFTA, in force from 1994, joined the United States, Canada and Mexico and phased out tariffs among the three, including on motor vehicles. The USMCA entered into force on July 1, 2020, replacing NAFTA; it keeps most of NAFTA’s chapters, with changes for autos, dairy and other areas.

6. 3.

   Compare the GATT with the WTO, and NAFTA with the USMCA. What does each pair show about change and continuity, Esme asks?

   • Each shows an agreement that lasts unchanged, since the rules of 1947 survive in 1995 and NAFTA’s text survives in 2020 as before
   • Each shows continuity with change: the WTO grew out of the GATT, and the USMCA kept NAFTA’s chapters but changed autos and dairy
   • Each shows growth in membership: 23 founders became 166 members, and the USMCA kept the same three countries
   • Each shows a clean break: the WTO set aside the GATT’s rules and the USMCA replaced NAFTA’s chapters

7. Use this

   Card A. Three countries (Made up for practice.) 1980 to 2000. Columns: Country; Average tariff, 1980 to 2000 (percent); Trade share of GDP, 1980 to 2000 (percent). Veldia: 22 to 6; 28 to 41. Sundal: 20 to 5; 22 to 35. Ardmoor: 21 to 20; 25 to 33. A container-shipping cost index fell from 100 to 40 in all three.

8. 4.

   Trade rose in all three countries. How do these figures split the causes, tariff cuts and cheaper shipping, Jun asks?

   • Tariff cuts explain the rise, since the two countries that cut tariffs rose the most, 13 points each, and Ardmoor cut none
   • Tariff cuts explain the 8 points common to all three, and cheaper shipping the extra 5 points in Veldia and Sundal
   • Cheaper shipping explains the whole rise, since Ardmoor’s trade rose 8 points without a tariff cut
   • Shipping fits all three (Ardmoor rose 8 points with no tariff cut); tariff cuts fit the extra 5, if nothing else differed

9. Use this

   Card A. Dates, in our words (CERN; World Trade Organization): The first proposal for the World Wide Web was written in March 1989. The first web server and browser ran at CERN by the end of 1990, and the software was released in 1991. On April 30, 1993 CERN made the web software available royalty-free. The WTO began on January 1, 1995; it grew out of the GATT, signed on October 30, 1947 by 23 founding members, and is the only international organization dealing with the rules of trade between nations. Card B. Veldia’s exports of online services (Made up for practice.) Percent of GDP: 0.4 in 1989, 0.6 in 1991, 1.0 in 1993, 3.0 in 1996 and 6.0 in 2000. Veldia’s total trade share rose from 29 percent in 1990 to 41 in 2000.

10. 5.

    The Web was proposed in 1989, yet Veldia’s online services trade grew mostly after 1993. What does that suggest about cause and condition, Kira asks?

    • The cause was the software release of 1991, since growth followed within three years of it
    • The 1989 proposal was the cause and the delay was chance, since the proposal came first
    • The idea alone did not matter; royalty-free software in 1993 removed a cost, and growth sped up after it
    • The Web caused the whole 1990s rise in Veldia’s trade, since online services grew from 1.0 to 6.0 percent of GDP

11. Use this

    Card A. Firms in Veldia (Made up for practice.) Exporting firms paid an average of $36,000 a year and non-exporting firms $28,000. Firms that began exporting in 2000 had paid $35,000 in 1999 and paid $36,000 in 2005. Firms that never exported paid $28,000 in 1999 and $28,800 in 2005.

12. 6.

    A report says: “Exporting firms pay 29 percent more than other firms, so exporting raises pay.” Test it with the cards, Noah asks.

    • The claim holds for new exporters, whose pay rose from $28,000 to $36,000 after they began exporting in 2000
    • The claim holds, since a 29 percent gap is too large to come from anything but the effect of exporting itself
    • The claim fails, since exporting has no effect on pay, as the new exporters’ pay growth shows for firms generally
    • New exporters already paid $35,000 and their pay grew as fast as non-exporters’, so the gap reflects which firms export

13. Use this

    Card A. Tarnby in a bad year (Made up for practice.) Year 1: GDP $100 billion and trade (exports plus imports) $20 billion. Year 2: GDP $80 billion and trade $20 billion.

14. 7.

    A student says: “Tarnby’s trade share rose from 20 to 25 percent, so its trade grew.” Test the claim against the card, Pia asks.

    • Trade grew because GDP fell, since a smaller economy pushes firms to sell more abroad
    • Trade grew by 5 percent, since the share of GDP rose from 20 to 25 percent in the second year
    • The share rose because GDP fell from 100 to 80 billion; trade stayed at 20 billion, so trade did not grow
    • Trade fell, since the economy shrank by 20 percent and trade is a part of the whole economy

15. Use this

    Card A. Container shipping, in our words (Smithsonian National Museum of American History): Malcom McLean, a trucking entrepreneur from North Carolina, bought a steamship company in 1955. The Ideal-X, the first container ship, sailed from New Jersey to Texas in 1956 with 58 containers. The same container could travel on rail, truck and ship. With fewer men needed, longshoremen faced huge job losses. Card B. Dates, in our words (CERN; World Trade Organization): The first proposal for the World Wide Web was written in March 1989. The first web server and browser ran at CERN by the end of 1990, and the software was released in 1991. On April 30, 1993 CERN made the web software available royalty-free. The WTO began on January 1, 1995; it grew out of the GATT, signed on October 30, 1947 by 23 founding members, and is the only international organization dealing with the rules of trade between nations.

16. 8.

    A student’s note reads: “Containers (1956) led to the Web (1993), which led to the WTO (1995): each step caused the next.” Which rewrite fixes it, Ren asks?

    • The Web (1993) caused the WTO (1995), since online trade made governments want rules for trade
    • Containers (1956) cut shipping costs; the Web (1991) went royalty-free; the WTO (1995) set trade rules: three separate steps
    • Containers (1956) cut shipping costs; the Web (1993) went royalty-free; the WTO (1995) set trade rules: three separate steps
    • Containers (1956), the Web (1993) and the WTO (1995) each came before a rise in trade, so each one caused that rise in trade

17. Use this

    Card A. Millbrook, an inland mill town (Made up for practice.) Mill jobs: 4,000 in 1995 and 1,600 in 2005. After a trade agreement, clothing prices fell 20 percent. Millbrook has 12,000 households, and each spends $3,000 a year on clothes. Card B. Port Harlow, a port city (Made up for practice.) Port and warehouse jobs: 5,000 in 1995 and 8,000 in 2005. Clothing prices fell 20 percent there too. It has 40,000 households, and each spends $3,000 a year on clothes. Card C. Millbrook’s laid-off mill workers (Made up for practice.) Of the 2,400 who lost mill jobs, 1,500 found other work paying $12,000 a year less than before, and 900 had no job after a year. Mill pay had been $40,000 a year.

18. 9.

    A student’s note reads: “The agreement gave a net 600 jobs and cheaper clothes, so Millbrook and Port Harlow both gained.” Which rewrite fixes it, Tala asks?

    • Millbrook lost about $54 million a year in pay, so the agreement made the whole country worse off
    • Net +600 jobs, so both places gained; Port Harlow’s extra jobs offset Millbrook’s losses in the town where they were lost
    • Net +600 jobs, but Millbrook lost 2,400 jobs and about $54 million a year against $7.2 million saved; Port Harlow gained 3,000 jobs
    • Millbrook lost 60 percent of its mill jobs and Port Harlow gained 60 percent, so the two places gained and lost equally

19. Use this

    Card A. Veldia, 1910 to 2000 (a made-up country with made-up numbers). Columns: Year; Trade share of GDP (percent); Average tariff (percent). 1910: 30; 15. 1930: 18; 35. 1950: 14; 30. 1970: 22; 18. 2000: 41; 5.

20. 10.

    A student’s note reads: “Veldia’s trade share rose 11 percent in 90 years, from 30 to 41, a steady climb.” Which rewrite fixes it, Zee asks?

    • Trade share rose 27 points, from 14 percent in 1950 to 41 percent in 2000, and it climbed steadily
    • Trade share rose 11 points over 1910 to 2000; the fall to 14 percent by 1950 is a detail that does not change the story
    • Trade share rose 37 points over 1910 to 2000, a steady climb with a small dip in 1950
    • Trade share rose 11 points (about 37 percent of the 1910 level), but fell to 14 percent by 1950 before it rose