Section 3 — The Global Financial Order
Session 10 of 16
Thursday, May 7, 2026
Global trade and economic power
Trade is not just economics — it is geopolitics in disguise. This session gives you the vocabulary of global trade: tariffs, sanctions, supply chains, comparative advantage, and the WTO. You'll understand why the US-China trade war, the Russia sanctions, and China's Belt and Road Initiative are all the same kind of battle — fought with different weapons — and why the person who understands supply chains gets promoted.
Vocabulary for this session
tradeimportexporttrade balancesurplusdeficittariffsanctionembargosupply chaincomparative advantagefree tradeprotectionismWTObilateralmultilateralglobalizationoutsourcing
Grammar focus
Grammar focus: Concession clauses for balanced argument — "Although free trade creates overall economic growth, it can destroy specific local industries." "Even though tariffs protect domestic jobs in the short term, they raise prices for consumers." "While globalization has lifted millions out of poverty, it has also increased inequality within countries."
Come prepared to discuss
"Does free trade make the world more equal — or does it just make rich countries richer?" Introduce the difference between comparative advantage theory and dependency theory. Students from developing economies often have lived experience of this tension.
Before this session
Prepare: Think of one product you use daily that was made in another country. Search where it was manufactured. Write two sentences: why do you think it is made there rather than in your country, and what would happen to its price if your government placed a tax on imports?
Task-Based Activity
Trade negotiation roleplay. Divide into groups of 3, each representing a different country: Country A (cheap manufacturing, low wages), Country B (advanced technology and IP), Country C (abundant raw materials — oil, rare earths, agriculture). Each country needs what the others have. Groups must negotiate bilateral trade agreements in English, including: tariff levels, intellectual property protections, investment terms, what each country gets in return. After negotiations, each group presents the deal: "We agreed to… because… Country B insisted on… We had to concede… because… The long-term risk for our country is…" Debrief: who had the most leverage? Why? What real-world trade relationships does this mirror?
Career-Oriented Take — How to Frame It
Global supply chains affect every industry — not just manufacturing. Professionals in logistics, tech, retail, finance, healthcare, and consulting all need to explain supply chain decisions in English. The person who can walk into a board meeting and explain "why we're moving production from China to Vietnam", "how the Red Sea shipping disruptions affect our Q3 margins", or "why our semiconductor supply chain creates geopolitical risk" is speaking a language that commands respect and advancement. This session's vocabulary is the foundation of that fluency.
Big Picture — Global Financial Order
Trade routes are power routes. The US-China trade war (begun 2018, ongoing), Western sanctions against Russia (2022), and China's Belt and Road Initiative (infrastructure investment in 140+ countries) are all competitions for economic influence expressed through trade policy. Countries that control critical supply chains — semiconductors (Taiwan/TSMC), rare earth metals (China controls 60%), oil (OPEC+ and Russia), food (Ukraine is Europe's breadbasket) — hold leverage over everyone who needs those inputs. The lesson: in a globalized economy, dependency is vulnerability, and diversification is national security.
Current Events Take
The post-2020 "de-globalization" or "slowbalization" trend has accelerated dramatically. COVID-19 exposed the fragility of just-in-time global supply chains (remember the semiconductor shortage that halted car production worldwide?). The Russia-Ukraine war exposed the danger of energy dependence (Germany's dependency on Russian gas became a political and economic crisis overnight). The US-China technology decoupling is fragmenting the global semiconductor industry. Countries are now "reshoring" (moving production home), "nearshoring" (moving to nearby countries), and "friend-shoring" (moving to trusted allies). This is the biggest structural shift in global trade since the 1990s — and it creates both risks and opportunities for every business.
Homework (assign after session)
Research your country's top 3 exports and top 3 imports (use the OEC website: oec.world). Write: "My country's economy depends on exporting… and importing… from… If [key export] trade were disrupted, the effect on my country would be… One thing that surprised me about my country's trade profile was…"