- Go to the Trade Compliance Center site at http://tcc.export.gov. Click on Foreign Trade Barrier Examples, and then search the reports. Pick a country that interests you from the index, and read the most current available reports for that country. Would this country be a good market for a small U.S. motor scooter manufacturer interested in expanding internationally? Why or why not? What are the main barriers to trade the company might face?
- While still at the Trade Compliance Center site, http://tcc.export.gov, click on Trade Agreements and then List All Agreements. Select one that interests you, and summarize what you learn about it.
- Review the historical data about exchange rates between the U.S. dollar and the Japanese yen available at http://www.x-rates.com. Pull up charts comparing the yen to the dollar for several years. List any trends you spot. What years would have been best for a U.S. company to enter the Japanese marketplace? Given current exchange rate conditions, do you think Japanese companies are increasing or decreasing their exporting efforts in the United States?
- Visit Foreign Trade Online, http://www.foreign-trade.com, and browse through the resources of this international business-to-business trade portal. What types of information does the site provide? Which would be most useful to a company looking to begin exporting? To a company who already exports and wants to find new markets? Rate the usefulness of the site and the information it offers.
- Go to http://www.fita.org, which is the Federation of International Trade Associations. Click on Really Useful Links for International Trade. Follow five of those links, and explain how they would help a U.S. manufacturer that wanted to go global.
- Go to the World Trade Organization site at http://www.wto.org. Next, click on WTO News. Inform the class about current activities and actions at the WTO.
- Go to http://www.worldbank.org and then to http://www.imf.org. Compare the types of information available on each website. Pick one example from each site, and report your findings to the class.