SS7E6I can explain how voluntary trade benefits

buyers and sellers in Southwest Asia.

What’s Your Specialty? (A)If one country has something another

country wants, the opportunities for trade begin to unfold.

Specialization encourages trade among countries because no country produces everything it needs.

The country selling the product makes a profit, and the country buying the product gets what it needs.

What’s Your Specialty? (B)In the Middle East, if a country has oil to

export, there are plenty of customers to buy it.

Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq, and Kuwait export millions of barrels of oil every day.

The United States imports oil from the Middle East because it does not have enough for the country’s needs.

In turn, the U.S. exports food, medicine, and raw materials to the Middle East.

What’s Your Specialty? (C)Having a more diversified economy,

Turkey exports coal, textiles, and some food to European countries.

Those countries then export needed transportation materials to Turkey.

Israel imports rough diamonds and exports the finished product: cut and polished diamonds.

Trade BarriersCountries sometimes set up trade

barriers to restrict trade because they want to produce and sell their own goods. Trade barriers include:TariffsQuotasEmbargoes

TariffsTariffs are taxes on imported goods which

cause the consumer to pay a higher price for an imported item.

Demand is then increased for the lower-priced item produced at home.

In 2008, Saudi Arabia and Egypt lowered tariffs on food imports to help their citizens cope with rapidly rising food prices.

QuotasQuotas are restrictions on the amount of

a good that can be imported into a country.

Quotas can create shortages that cause prices to rise.

EmbargosEmbargos forbid trade with another

country.After the September 11th, 2001 terrorist

attacks on the United States, the United Nations placed an arms embargo on Afghanistan.

Members of the UN could not sell weapons to Afghanistan, because of the violent group in charge of the government.

OPEC (A)Organization of Petroleum Exporting

CountriesCreated in 1960 by 5 oil rich countries (Iran,

Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and Venezuela)OPEC states it has two purposes:

to coordinate and unify petroleum prices in order to promote stability in the world market

And ensure a regular supply of petroleum to other countries

OPEC sets the price and amount of oil produced by its members

OPEC has a lot of control overgas prices

OPEC (B)Before 1960, oil production was greater

than demand, so oil prices were lowerAfter OPEC was formed, demand for oil

increased, so oil prices roseOPEC currently has 12 membersOPEC has a lot of power and has used oil

as a political tacticIn 1973, OPEC stopped exporting oil to

countries that supported Israel in the Arab-Israeli War of 1973-This caused gasoline shortages in the U.S. and many other countries

Currency ExchangeCurrency is the type of money a country

usesBecause different countries have

different currencies, international trade is needed.

International trade requires a system for exchanging currency between nations.

Foreign Exchange-money from one country must be converted into the currency of that country to pay for goods in that country.