Trade Policy: Part 2
Unit 4 · Lesson 4.12 · Last updated June 2026
A 45-minute lesson where students examine the Trade Adjustment Assistance program and other government tools designed to reduce trade-related job loss, then synthesize their Unit 4 learning through essential questions and big ideas.
Overview
Building on Lesson 4.11, students deepen their understanding of how governments attempt to balance the broad benefits of international trade with its concentrated costs. Through direct instruction, a podcast video clip, and structured discussion, students examine the Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) program — how it was intended to help workers displaced by trade, where it fell short, and how similar programs operate globally today. The lesson closes with a synthesis summarizer connecting Unit 4 learning to both unit and semester big ideas and essential questions.
Learning Objectives
- Evaluate the impact of trade on different stakeholders.
- Analyze and evaluate arguments related to international trade.
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Materials
- Instruction Slides (display during class period)
- Student Handout pp. 4–5 (1 copy per student)
- Suggested Responses pp. 6–7 (1 copy for educator reference)
Optional
Lesson Sequence
Slides 2–4
- Display Slide 2. Instruct students to discuss the questions on the slide. Call on several students to share. Note: Students may question the connection between the activator and the course — tell them to be patient; the connection will be made shortly. (Additional educator tips and suggested answers are in the notes section throughout Instruction Slides.)
- Advance to Slide 3. Explain the connection between students' and countries' efforts to maximize their benefits.
- Proceed to Slide 4. Explain the learning objectives.
Slides 5–19
Reminders About International Trade — Slides 5–9
- Advance through Slides 5–6. Distribute 1 copy of Student Handout to each student. Direct students' attention to the "Recall" section and tell them to follow the instructions on Slide 6. Allow approximately 1 minute.
- Progress through Slides 7–8. Use the information to recall benefits and costs of unrestricted international trade from previous lessons. Encourage students to add to their handout as needed.
- Display Slide 9. Remind students that Lesson 4.11 introduced tariffs as one tool policymakers use to balance economy-wide benefits with concentrated costs. Explain that this lesson focuses on another tool: trade support — specifically, worker assistance programs.
Trade Adjustment Assistance — Slides 10–19
- Advance through Slides 10–11. Remind students that, on net, employment does not decrease as a result of international trade, but that it often disrupts employment in specific sectors — and these impacts are not experienced equally. Click to reveal two examples of sectors that have declined in the U.S., in part, due to trade.
- Proceed to Slide 12. Allow students a moment to read the quote and explain that President Kennedy was the first U.S. president to create a trade adjustment assistance program to reduce harm from trade-related job loss.
- Display Slide 13. Tell students to keep the prompts under "Trade Adjustment Assistance" on Student Handout in mind as they watch the clip on the following slide.
- Proceed to Slide 14. Play the approximately 7-minute video clip. Pro Tip: Consider pausing at the time calls in the slide notes to allow students to add notes to their handout. The optional Video Clip Transcript is available for accessibility or reference.
- Debrief the handout prompts as a class and encourage students to add information. (See Suggested Responses.) Note: Students will prepare their own podcast in Lesson 4.13 — this clip is their opportunity to hear an economics-focused podcast in action.
- Advance to Slide 15. Tell pairs to discuss the prompt. After approximately 2 minutes, click to reveal remaining text and call on several volunteers to share.
- Display Slide 16. Briefly describe the current state of the Trade Adjustment Assistance program.
- Proceed to Slide 17. Call attention to two current global examples of government programs aimed at retraining workers to offset trade-related harms.
- Proceed to Slide 18. Use the text to remind students what they will do on the summative assessment in Lesson 4.15.
- Advance to Slide 19. Explain how the prompt allows students to practice similar thinking skills. Tell students to discuss the prompt. After approximately 2 minutes, click to reveal remaining text and call on several students to share.
Slides 20–21
- Progress through Slides 20–21. Organize students into pairs (groups of 3 if needed). Read aloud the "Summarizer Instructions" on Student Handout. Assign each pair a 1 or a 2. Click to reveal: pairs assigned 1 will select and respond to one Unit Essential Question and one Unit Big Idea; pairs assigned 2 will respond to one Semester Essential Question and the Semester Big Idea.
- Allow approximately 8 minutes for pairs to generate responses and jot down ideas on their handout.
- Call on volunteers to share until each Essential Question and Big Idea has been discussed. Encourage students to add notes. Elaborate as needed to ensure all key ideas have been addressed. (Reference Suggested Responses as needed.)
Aligned Standards
Voluntary National Content Standards in Economics
What Educators Are Saying
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