INTERNATIONAL ECONOMICS (INT-220-800)

WRITTEN ASSIGNMENT FOR MODULE 2: INTERNATIONAL TRADE POLICY

As aUnited States Senatorfrom North Carolina, you chair the Senate Finance Committee's Subcommittee onInternational Trade, Customs, and Global Competitiveness.ThePresidentis deeply concerned about the impact that imports of cheap Chinese solar panels are having on the development of the fledgling American solar power industry,particularly now that the drop in oil prices has put even more pressure on American solar panel manufacturers bymaking solar power relativelyless attractive. TheAdministrationis urging Congress to enact steep tariffs on Chinese solar panels, accusing theChinese government ofillegallydumping highly subsidized solar panels on the U. S. market at prices far below what U. S. companies charge for comparable products.

The chair of the Senate Finance Committee has told you she wants your subcommittee to investigate the pros and cons of assessing an import tariff onChinesesolar panels sold on the U.S. market. In particular, she has instructed you and your subcommittee to address the following questions and then make afinal recommendationon whether or not an import tariff on Chinese solar panel imports should be enacted:

1. What would the likely impact be onAmerican solar panel manufacturers?
2. What is the likely impact on American consumers, and how will they likely react?
3. What are the likely impacts on the following:
   1. Other American energy sources such as the oil industry, nuclear power, and wind farms?
   2. Solar panel installers and "green" building construction contractors?

Your recommendation must be supported byat leastthreecitations from outside sources. Oneof the citations may be from our textbook; the other two (or more) must come from other sources that you should be able to easily find online.

Once again, what I am looking for is not so much what your recommendation is, but how well you understand the basic concepts of trade policy, and how well you can apply these concepts to a "real world" situation toput together a well-reasoned, logical recommendation that is fully supported by the factsyou use to support your position.