What do you think of when you think of trade? Trading Snickers for Mars Bars after Halloween? Buying food at the grocery store? You might even think about trading goods in a traditional marketplace, the way it used to be done — and still is in many countries — when people come together and get what they need by selling or exchanging what they have. Have you ever traded something? When, with whom, how did the trade actually happen? Tell the story in as much detail as you can. Japanese Fish Market The common denominator whenever something is traded is people coming together, reaching an agreement, and then exchanging goods or services. When you think about it, trade is as much about people as it is about the things that are traded. So how and why do these relationships come about? Take the Snickers and Mars bar example. Clearly, it is a question of getting something you want or need and don’t have by giving something that you consider to be of equal value. In some parts of the world, a shoemaker in one village might sell his shoes to people from another village because he knows that they do not have a shoemaker in their village. The shoemaker lives in an area where he has access to fine leather and is very talented at his job. He might also have a lot of help from his family, or maybe from a neighbor who lends his cart to take the shoes to market in exchange for fresh bread baked by the shoemaker’s wife. When the shoemaker goes to the village market, he might sell or exchange his shoes for supplies — like cloth to make clothes — or money to buy things he needs to support his family. Write down as many differences as you can think of between a village shoemaker trading his shoes and the example of tennis shoes made in Taiwan and sold to stores in Chicago. Before trade between different countries can take place, some sort of village market place must be established. That is to say, there must be a way for the people of these different countries to get to know each other and become familiar with the variety and quality of products and services each country has to offer. International trade requires that countries create a substitute for a village square through telephone, fax, Internet, trade missions, and video conferencing to learn about each other and foreign markets before they create a trade agreement. Once again we come back to the connection between people, relationships and international trade. One way that trade relationships are built in Seattle Washington and all over the world is by using trade missions to bring potential trading partners together. The Port of Seattle, for example, participates in trade missions to countries all over the world, particularly in Asia, in order to open up new avenues or new opportunities for companies from Seattle and the Northwest to do business internationally. Before Port of Seattle representatives go on a trade mission, however, they research the country they are visiting to learn about the customs and values of that country: how people greet one another; how they say hello; if the exchange of gifts is important, and, if so, what kind of gift is appropriate in what country; and what kind of behavior, dress, and approach to doing business is acceptable. When you go to a new friend’s house for dinner or start a new job, what helps you get along in a new environment and with the new people that you meet? How could those same things help in creating trade relationships? Cultural research is important in building trust and comfort among people who may have very different backgrounds and ways of living. In addition, this type of research helps establish what types of goods or services people in another country might wish to purchase. A trade mission ñ which may be made up of government officials, business leaders, and some of the ordinary people, like farmers or manufacturers whose goods will actually be traded - then helps secure an agreement between countries about how much will be traded, for what price, and under what conditions. Become a member of a trade mission. Choose the country you are going to visit. Write down what you know and what you don’t know about that country. Find out where you can get the information you need. Once you have gathered your background material, decide what product or service you think that country might be interested in. Write a list of all the people and the jobs that might be involved in your project. Tell the story of your trade mission. Home Journey Log Trade Topics People Profiles Index Ask the Eagle