Business : Int: International Market - The Speaking Cats

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"Everyone lives by selling something " Robert Louis Stevenson (1850-1894) Scottish novelist

A- The sentences below represent a variety of views on international markets.Complete the sentences with the words below.

companies - competition - environment - gap - opportunities- poverty- prices - standards - unemployment- workers

'International markets for labour, capital, goods and services ...
1 provide    for people to work/study abroad and improve their lives.'
2 increase    and improve the choice of goods and services.'
3 create    and lead to job losses in richer countries.'
4 reduce    and increase wealth everywhere.'
5 exploit    in poorer countries.'
6 widen the    between rich and poor nations.'
7 mean lower costs and cheaper retail    , which benefit consumers.'
8 give large multinational    and trading blocs too much power.'
9 lead to damage to the natural    , local cultures and industries.'
10 promote higher    of living, working conditions, technology, education, etc.'

Work in pairs. Which of the statements in Exercise A do you agree with?

C- Work in pairs. How has the development of international markets affected:
a) you as a consumer? b) your company/institution? c) your country?

D- How do you think international markets will develop in the future?

Vocabulary : Free Trade

A- In pairs, discuss the question.

What is free trade?

B - listen to the first part of a radio interview with Ian McPherson, an expert on international trade. Complete the definition of free trade he gives.

It's a situation in which goods come into and out of a country without any or . Countries which truly believe in free trade try to their trade, that's to say, they take away , to trade. [ ... They have open and few controls of goods at

listen to the second part of the interview. Note down five things which stop people trading freely. Explain briefly the meaning of each one.

EXAMPLE: Tariffs: These are taxes on imported goods.

D- listen to the third part of the interview and do these exercises.
1 Choose the best answer.

When there is a policy of deregulation, ...

a) companies compete freely.

b) there are a lot of government controls.

cJ companies must follow regulations.

2 Which benefits of free trade does Ian McPherson mention? Tick the ones you hear.

a) greater choice of goods

b) better-made products

c) lower taxes

d) better pay

e) a wider choice of jobs

3 Complete the gaps .
Some countries do not practise free trade because they wish to:

• fight against competition, for example, dumping;
• protect their b industries, which are important to their economy;
• be less reliant on , because their own economies need developing.

4 Answer the questions.

a) What trend in international trade does Ian McPherson mention?
b) Why does he think the trend is a good one?

E- Match the sentence halves. (type a...g)

1 We're trying to break into    a) all regulations if you want the delivery to go through without problems.
2 You should carry out     b) the delivery date, let us know as soon as possible.
3 If you would like to place    c) insurance cover for the shipment.
4 If you can't meet    d) a market survey before you make a major investment.
5 They've quoted     e) the Japanese market.
6 let us know if you want us to arrange     f) an order, press one now.
7 It's essential to comply with    g) us a very good price for the consignment.

Discuss the questions.

1 To what extent do you have free trade in your country?
2 Should certain industries in your country be protected? If so, which ones?
3 Is free trade always a good thing, in your opinion?

READING

READING : Trade between China and the US

A- Work in pairs. Read the two articles quickly and choose the best title for each one.

a) US-China trade has cost 2.3 million American jobs

b) US protectionism is not the way forward

c) Stop blaming China for US trade deficit

d) Yuan needs to rise against the US dollar

Article 2

a) US-China trade has cost 2.3 million American jobs

b) US protectionism is not the way forward

c) Stop blaming China for US trade deficit

d) Yuan needs to rise against the US dollar

Look at the articles again, Decide if the statements are true or false

Article 1

1 The US should concentrate on being more competitive economically.

True

False

2 The US should be protectionist.

True

False

3 The US should argue for a stronger Chinese currency in order to reduce the US's trade deficit with China.

True

False

4 The US and China should focus on the openness of their trading relationship.

True

False

Article 2
5 The US should recognise how much the Chinese currency has already risen against the doliar.

True

False

6 US labour unions say China has manipulated its currency to give Chinese companies an unfair advantage in international trade.

True

False

7 The Chinese save less of their income than Americans.

True

False

8 Americans have recently bought Chinese-made goods at low prices.

True

False

Find the opposites of these words in the articles.

1 free trade 2 upturn 3 surplus
4 dispute 5 decreased 6 spend

Complete the sentences with the words you found in Exercise C.

1 Economists know that    and import taxes promote inefficiency.
2 The study was done in    with local businesses.
3 There has been a    in the tourist trade.
4 The figures show a trade    of $4 billion.

What do you think will happen to the trade situation between China and the US?

Language Review : Conditionals

Conditionals

• We use the first conditional when we think the expected outcome of a situation is very likely.
If you give us a 10% discount, we'll place a firm order of 2,000 units. (This is a promise.)
If you don't deliver on time, we won't order from you again. (This is a threat.)
Will you give us a discount if we double our order?
• We use the second conditional when the outcome is less certain or is imaginary.
We also use it in negotiations to make the offer or proposal less direct.
If you gave us a 5% discount, we would place a much bigger order.
If they didn't have a guaranteed market, their business wouldn't survive.
What discount would you offer us if we decided to go to another supplier?

Choose the correct verbs to complete the sentences.

1 If you ____a discount of 5%, we ____ a firm order.

give us - 'll place

'II give us - place

2 ____ by November if we _____ the transport costs?

Will you deliver - pay

Do you deliver - 'II pay

3 If you _____ your price by 5%, we ____ at least 4,000 units.

will lower - buy

lower - 'II buy

4 _____ it help you if we ____ the goods by air?

Would - sent

Does - are sending

5 If you____ your delivery times, we _____ find a new supplier.

aren't improving - had to

don't improve - 'll have

6 If we____an association of producers, we ___a better price for our coffee.

will join - will get

joined - would get

SKILLS

Negotiating

A - Work in pairs. Try to sell something you have on you (a watch, bracelet, etc.) or a household object to your partner.

B- Discuss the questions.

1 Were you pleased with the outcome of the negotiation in Exercise A?
2 What strategy or tactics did your partner use to achieve his/her objective?

In his book The Art of Winning, Harry Mills says that most negotiations have seven stages. These are listed below, but in the wrong order. Put the stages in order. What word do the initial letters of the stages spell?

• Tie up loose ends
ConArm what has been agreed. Summarise the details on paper.
• Explore each other's needs
Build rapport. State your opening position. learn the other side's position.
• Ready yourself
Prepare your objectives, concessions and strategy. Gather information about the other side.
• Probe with proposals
Make suggestions and And areas of agreement.
• Close the deal
Bring the negotiation to a clear and satisfactory end.
• Signal for movement
Signal that you are prepared to move from your original position. Respond to signals from the other side.
• Exchange concessions
Give the other side something in return for something you need or want.

D- Listen to seven extracts from a negotiation between two buyers from an exclusive department store in Moscow and Pierlucci, an Italian supplier of leather goods. Match each extract (1-7) to one of the stages of Harry Mills's list (a-g).

Extract 1    a) Tie up loose ends
Extract 2    b) Probe with proposals
Extract 3    c) Ready yourself
Extract 4    d) Close the deal
Extract 5    e) Explore needs
Extract 6    f) Signal for movement
Extract 7    g) Exchange concessions

Role-play

Role-play these negotiations. Try to get a good outcome in each situation.

M	T	W	T	F	S	S
						1
2	3	4	5	6	7	8
9	10	11	12	13	14	15
16	17	18	19	20	21	22
23	24	25	26	27	28	29
30	31