BBA 4351, International Economics 1 Course Learning Outcomes for Unit I Upon completion of this unit, students should be able to: 1. Appraise how globalization contributes to greater economic interdependence. 1.1 Explain the importance of globalization in terms of the law of comparative advantage. 2. Discuss how comparative advantages lead to gains from international trade. 2.1 Explain the principle of absolute and comparative advantage. Course/Unit Learning Outcomes Learning Activity 1.1 Unit I Lesson Chapter 1 Unit I Essay 2.1 Unit I Lesson Chapter 2 Unit I Essay Reading Assignment Chapter 1: The International Economy and Globalization Chapter 2: Foundations of Modern Trade Theory: Comparative Advantage Unit Lesson Globalization Today, every part of the world is connected, and no country can be completely secluded and stand by itself. In other words, countries in a global economy must be interdependent. Throughout this course, you will learn how a nation interacts with other countries in the global economy. More specifically, you will understand how principles of economics can be applied to the global economy where countries are interdependent. There are a number of advantages and disadvantages to globalization as listed in the chart below from the textbook. The Unit l Lesson provides some new perspectives on various stages of globalization. Baldwin (2016) briefly summarizes four important phases of globalization that occurred during the past 200,000 years. The textbook stresses the fact that the third phase of globalization began with the steam engine and other significant improvements in transportation, increasing trade in goods and services among different parts of the world (Carbaugh, 2017). The fourth phase of globalization, which is not mentioned in our textbook, involves the transfer of rich-country technologies to workers in poor countries. This, in turn, has increased productivity and expedited industrialization in those poor countries. Baldwin (2016) argues that a reorientation of strategy and policy in both rich and poor countries is necessary. Rich countries need to develop better rules for governing foreign investment and intellectual property rights as well as concentrate on the training and welfare of workers rather than the preservation of particular jobs. UNIT I STUDY GUIDE International Economy and Comparative Advantage BBA 4351, International Economics 2 UNIT x STUDY GUIDE Title Think about what the next stage of globalization will be. It is not going to be industrialization for sure. What might it be? Some experts believe the next phase of globalization will be Big Data—a large volume of complex datasets that can be used in decision-making in various fields. The United States as an Open Economy The U.S. economy is a part of the global economy and, therefore, has been integrated into global markets in past decades. Duri.

1. BBA 4351, International Economics 1
Course Learning Outcomes for Unit I
Upon completion of this unit, students should be able to:
1. Appraise how globalization contributes to greater economic
interdependence.
1.1 Explain the importance of globalization in terms of the law
of comparative advantage.
2. Discuss how comparative advantages lead to gains from
international trade.
2.1 Explain the principle of absolute and comparative
advantage.
Course/Unit
Learning Outcomes
Learning Activity
1.1
Unit I Lesson
Chapter 1
Unit I Essay

2. 2.1
Unit I Lesson
Chapter 2
Unit I Essay
Reading Assignment
Chapter 1: The International Economy and Globalization
Chapter 2: Foundations of Modern Trade Theory: Comparative
Advantage
Unit Lesson
Globalization
Today, every part of the world is connected, and no country can
be completely secluded and stand by itself.
In other words, countries in a global economy must be
interdependent. Throughout this course, you will learn
how a nation interacts with other countries in the global
economy. More specifically, you will understand how
principles of economics can be applied to the global economy
where countries are interdependent.
There are a number of advantages and disadvantages to
globalization as listed in the chart below from the
textbook.
The Unit l Lesson provides some new perspectives on various
stages of globalization. Baldwin (2016) briefly
summarizes four important phases of globalization that occurred
during the past 200,000 years. The textbook

3. stresses the fact that the third phase of globalization began with
the steam engine and other significant
improvements in transportation, increasing trade in goods and
services among different parts of the world
(Carbaugh, 2017). The fourth phase of globalization, which is
not mentioned in our textbook, involves the
transfer of rich-country technologies to workers in poor
countries. This, in turn, has increased productivity and
expedited industrialization in those poor countries. Baldwin
(2016) argues that a reorientation of strategy and
policy in both rich and poor countries is necessary. Rich
countries need to develop better rules for governing
foreign investment and intellectual property rights as well as
concentrate on the training and welfare of
workers rather than the preservation of particular jobs.
UNIT I STUDY GUIDE
International Economy and
Comparative Advantage
BBA 4351, International Economics 2
UNIT x STUDY GUIDE
Title
Think about what the next stage of globalization will be. It is
not going to be industrialization for sure. What
might it be? Some experts believe the next phase of

4. globalization will be Big Data—a large volume of
complex datasets that can be used in decision-making in various
fields.
The United States as an Open Economy
The U.S. economy is a part of the global economy and,
therefore, has been integrated into global markets in
past decades. During this process, the United States has been
involved in numerous areas such as the global
trade of goods or services and global investment. This is known
as an open economy, which is a key driver
for the global economy. The chart below presents exports and
imports of goods and services as a percentage
of gross domestic product (GDP) in 2013 (Carbaugh, 2017).
Global economy example
(Carbaugh, 2017, p. 10)
The advantages and disadvantages of globalization
(Carbaugh, 2017, p. 23)
BBA 4351, International Economics 3
UNIT x STUDY GUIDE
Title
Chapter 2 of the textbook discusses the importance of
international trade. The most important part of this

5. chapter is to understand how comparative advantage leads to
international trade. Consider how international
trade arises in the snowboard market.
China is known as a primary exporter of snowboards to the
United States. According to Feenstra and Taylor
(2014), China generated revenues of approximately $19 million
by exporting snowboards to the United
States. Austria, known as the second largest exporter of
snowboards to the United States generated
revenues of roughly $10 million in 2012 (Feenstra & Taylor,
2014).
To explain the ranking of a snowboard exporter, it
is important first to understand the concept of
absolute advantage. A country is said to have an
absolute advantage over a certain good or service,
when it has a better capacity, skills, and
technology to produce it. For instance, Switzerland
has numerous mountains and, therefore, can have
specialization in utilizing natural resources, land,
and beautiful landscapes. Switzerland uses all of
its resources and technology to produce something
related to those resources instead of producing
agricultural products or manufactured high-
technology goods or services. Denmark, however,
does not have the natural advantages that
Switzerland does. However, the country is famous
for having resources and lands that are suitable for
producing a variety of agricultural and dairy
products including cheese, milk, and grain. Due to
this advantage, a number of dairy companies can
been found in Denmark. For instance, Arla Foods based in Viby,
Denmark, is one of the largest suppliers of

6. dairy products in northern European countries. However, note
that countries do not engage in producing
goods or services based on the principle of absolute advantage.
For example, the United States is known as
a world leader in terms of producing a range of products,
including agricultural and manufactured goods. In
other words, the United States has an absolute advantage in
producing almost all types of goods.
Interestingly, however, the United States is not said to be the
primary exporter of computer devices to foreign
countries. Instead, the largest exporter of computer devices is
China.
This clearly indicates that absolute advantage might not provide
a good answer for why international trade is
occurring. The concept of comparative advantage provides a
good answer for this. A country is said to have a
comparative advantage when it is able to produce a good at a
lower opportunity cost than another country.
Suppose that Argentina and Brazil each have 10,000 hours of
labor per month. Argentina is capable of
producing 1 kilogram (kg) of coffee that requires two hours and
producing one bottle of wine that requires four
hours. Brazil is able to produce 1 kg of coffee that requires one
hour and to produce one bottle of wine that
requires five hours. In this case, Brazil has an absolute
advantage in coffee because producing 1 kg of coffee
requires only one hour while the same task requires two hours
in Argentina. On the other hand, Argentina has
a comparative advantage in producing wine. Argentina’s
opportunity cost of producing one bottle of wine is 2
kg of coffee because the four hours required to produce one
bottle of wine could instead produce 2 kg of
coffee. Brazil’s opportunity cost of producing one bottle of
wine is 5 kg of coffee because the five hours
required to produce the one bottle of wine could instead

7. produce more coffee. Therefore, it is better for
Argentina to devote available resources and technologies to
produce wine rather than coffee because it is
more cost effective. Brazil’s opportunity cost of producing 1 kg
of coffee is one-fifth bottle of wine because the
one hour required to produce 1 kg of coffee could instead
produce one-fifth bottle of wine. Argentina’s
opportunity cost of producing 1 kg of coffee is one-half bottle
of wine because the two hours required to
produce 1 kg of coffee could instead produce one-half bottle of
wine. In this case, it is better for Brazil to
devote available resources and technologies to produce coffee
rather than wine because it is more cost
effective. As a result, assuming both countries trade with each
other, they would be better off when Argentina
focuses on exporting wine and importing coffee while Brazil
concentrates on exporting coffee and importing
wine.
Snowboards lined up that are ready to be purchased
(Jarmoluk, 2011)
BBA 4351, International Economics 4
UNIT x STUDY GUIDE
Title
Likewise, although China might have an absolute disadvantage
compared with Germany or the United States

8. in producing manufactured goods, China is still better at
producing snowboards than some other
manufactured goods, so it is able to export snowboards to the
United States.
You can also relate the concept of trade, specialization, and
comparative advantage to your career. Suppose
there are four people working at a public school—David, Paul,
James, and Susan—who all have different
talents and skill sets. David is good at teaching, Paul is good at
organizing human resources and events,
James is good at overseeing the overall workflow within the
school, and Susan is good at managing financial
resources. Using economic-based concepts that we have already
learned, we see that David has a
comparative advantage over the other three people in terms of
teaching. Paul has a comparative advantage
over James, Susan, and David in terms of organizing. Susan has
a comparative advantage over David,
James, and Paul in terms of managing. Finally, James has a
comparative advantage in terms of overseeing.
If Susan engages in overseeing the overall workflow and James
engages in teaching, then we would expect
that limited resources are not allocated in an efficient manner,
and everyone will likely be unhappy because
they are not doing the tasks in which they specialize. If each
person is assigned to do the task in which they
specialize, human resources will be allocated efficiently within
the school, and everyone will joyfully do the
tasks in which they excel.
At the same time, Susan, who manages financial resources, will
also be able to recoup the benefits from
other people’s skill sets. For instance, because James will be
able to use all of his time, resources, and

9. talents specifically to oversee the overall workflow, Susan (as
well as Paul and David) will benefit from it.
They are trading their own talents and gifts (specializations)
with other people’s talents and gifts, and as a
result, everyone will be much happier. This is in line with a
famous economic principle that suggests that trade
puts every party in a better position. Not every country can
produce everything (e.g., manufactured goods,
agricultural products). This is why almost all countries today
engage in international trade. By exporting goods
or services that each country is good at producing at a lower
opportunity cost, every nation will be in a better
and more beneficial economical position.
References
Baldwin, R. (2016). The great convergence: Information
technology and the new globalization. Cambridge,
MA: Harvard University Press.
Carbaugh, R. J. (2017). International economics (16th ed.).
Boston, MA: Cengage Learning.
Feenstra, R. C., & Taylor, A. M. (2014). International trade (3rd
ed.). New York, NY: Worth.
Iven, W. [FirmBee]. (2014). Ipad, Samsung, music, play,
Google, tablet, Internet [Photograph]. Retrieved from
https://pixabay.com/en/ipad-samsung-music-play-google-
605439/
Jarmoluk, M. [jarmoluk]. (2011). Snowboarding, boards, board,

10. winter, skiing, exhibition [Photograph].
Retrieved from https://pixabay.com/en/snowboarding-boards-
board-winter-428612/
Suggested Reading
The PowerPoint presentation below will introduce you to the
international economy and to globalization. The
presentation emphasizes the high degree of economic
interdependence that characterizes today’s
economies. By viewing the slides, you will have a better
understanding of the international economy and
globalization.
Click here to access the Chapter 1 PowerPoint presentation.
(Click here to access a PDF version of the
presentation.)
The PowerPoint presentation below will provide you with the
foundation of modern trade theory. This theory
seeks to answer three questions: (1) What constitutes the basis
for trade? (2) At what terms of trade are
products exchanged in international markets? (3) What are the
gains from trade in terms of production and
https://online.columbiasouthern.edu/bbcswebdav/xid-
80138746_1
https://online.columbiasouthern.edu/bbcswebdav/xid-
80138714_1

11. BBA 4351, International Economics 5
UNIT x STUDY GUIDE
Title
consumption? By viewing the presentation, you will have a
better understanding of the foundations of modern
trade.
Click here to access the Chapter 2 PowerPoint presentation.
(Click here to access a PDF version of the
presentation.)
https://online.columbiasouthern.edu/bbcswebdav/xid-
80138753_1
https://online.columbiasouthern.edu/bbcswebdav/xid-
80138733_1
DENVER -- November 20, 2015 - Chipotle Mexican Grill
(NYSE: CMG)
continues to work closely with state and federal health officials,
as the
investigation continues into an E. coli incident initially linked
to 11 Chipotle
restaurants in Washington and Oregon.

12. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reduced
the number
of cases connected to Chipotle from 50 to 37 cases on
November 18 (with
24 in Washington and 13 in Oregon).
This reduction of nearly 25% was based upon more sensitive
testing which
revealed the cases were not related to Chipotle. The CDC has
informed
Chipotle that it identified six additional cases in which initial
testing matches
the E. coli strain involved in the Washington and Oregon
incident.
Although one of the individuals has no known link to Chipotle,
five
individuals did report eating at Chipotle, including two in
Turlock, Calif., one
in Akron, Ohio, one in Amherst, NY, and one in Burnsville,
Minn.
Investigators have suggested that in incidents like this, it is not
unusual to
see additional cases after the initial incident as the investigation
moves
forward.

13. The source of the problem appears to have been contained
during a period
in late October. Forty-two of the 43 cases linked to Chipotle,
reported
visiting one of the restaurants in question between October 13
and October
30. One person reported having eaten November 6.
In response to this incident, Chipotle has taken aggressive steps
to make
sure its restaurants are as safe as possible. There have been no
reported
new cases in Washington or Oregon since Chipotle put its
remediation plan
into effect.
Specifically, the company conducted deep cleaning at the
restaurants that
have been linked to this incident, replacing ingredients in those
restaurants,
changing food preparation procedures, providing all necessary
supply chain
data to investigators, and surveying employees to be sure none
have had
any symptoms of illness (note: no Chipotle employees in any

14. states have
been ill related to this incident). Similar actions are
immediately being taken
in response to these newly reported cases.
Chipotle is also taking significant steps to be sure all of its food
is as safe as
possible. Specifically, the company is expanding testing of key
ingredients,
examining all of its food-safety procedures to find any
opportunity for
improvement, and is working with two renowned food safety
scientists to
assess all of its food safety programs, from the farms that
provide its food to
its restaurants.
"We take this incident very seriously because the safety of our
food and
wellbeing of our customers is always our highest priority," said
Steve Ells,
chairman and co-CEO of Chipotle. "We are committed to taking
any and all
necessary actions to make sure our food is as safe as possible,

15. and we are
working diligently with the health agencies."
"We offer our sincerest apologies to those who have been
affected," said
Ells. "We will leave no stone unturned to ensure the safety of
our food -
from enhancing the safety and quality assurance program for all
of our fresh
produce suppliers, to examining all of our food safety
procedures from farm
to restaurant, and expanding testing programs for produce, meat
and dairy
items before they are sent to our restaurants."
According to the CDC, there are about 48 million cases of food-
related
illness in the U.S. annually, including 265,000 cases of E. coli.
Chipotle founder Steve Ells published an open letter to
customers last week
in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, the Oregonian, USA Today and
the New
York Times, about the issue.
"The idea that eating at any of our restaurants could cause
anyone to

16. become ill is unacceptable to all of us at Chipotle," Ells wrote.
"On behalf of
all of us, I'd like to offer our sincerest apologies and assure all
of our
customers that we are doing everything possible to make our
food as safe as
it can be."
Writing Assignment #3 – Fall 2018
From: Peacock, Elizabeth <[email protected]>
To: Analyst, Student <[email protected]>
Subject: Mattel account
Dear Analyst,
Congratulations on giving a fantastic presentation to the Board
of Mattel. The chair was
so impressed with your performance that she recommended the
company work
exclusively with you while navigating this situation. Mattel has

17. asked us to do damage
control on two fronts and I would like you to please handle both
assignments:
1. Draft a press release for Mattel based on the same
information it sent over for your
presentation to its Board. I’ve attached it again to this email. It
should not be more
than 500 words. Mattel needs this press release issued by
Sunday, November 11 at
11:59 p.m. (Upload this to Blackboard.)
2. Compose an email to shareholders based on this same
information. Consider your
audience and remember that what the Board needed to hear is
not necessarily what
should make its way into a press release to consumers. The
same is true of what
should be included in your email to shareholders who need to be
persuaded to keep
their shares of Mattel. (Send this email to your professor by
Sunday, November 11
at 11:59 p.m.).
Sincerely,
Elizabeth

18. Mattel Toy Recall
RESEARCH
Mattel, “the world’s premiere toy company,” began in Southern
California in a
garage workshop that manufactured picture frames. When the
company started selling
dollhouse furniture made from picture frame scraps, they
realized the market potential
and decided to switch to toy manufacturing. In 1959, Mattel
created its most popular toy,
the Barbie doll. Inspired by paper dolls, Barbie was a three-
dimensional doll with which
“little girls could play out their dreams.” Throughout the
decades Mattel has continued to
create and market popular toys, (Hot Wheels and He-man)
merge with successful
manufacturers, (Fisher Price and Tyco) partner with children’s
program companies,
(Disney, Sesame Street, and Nickelodeon) obtain licenses and
rights to manufacture
popular lines (Cabbage Patch Dolls and Harry Potter
merchandise), and acquire other

19. companies (Pleasant Company).
Since its conception, the Mattel Company has done a lot to
make sure it is
considered a trustworthy company for children and the
community. The corporation
established a children’s charity, called the Mattel Children’s
Foundation. In 1997 the
mailto:[email protected]
mailto:[email protected]
company created the Global Manufacturing Principles, making
it the first company to
create a framework to ensure manufacturing would be conducted
through consistent
standards on a global level. In 1998, it started a $25 million
multi-year donation to the
UCLA Children’s Hospital, which is now called the Mattel
Children’s Hospital at UCLA.
However, Mattel has not always been able to maintain its image
of child-like
innocence. The corporation has had numerous complaints that it
has stolen ideas for its
toy lines from children who have entered its competitions. In
the mid 1970’s, it was

20. uncovered that company officials had lied in press releases and
financial information to
make it look like the company was continuing to grow
corporately. The company has also
had its share of recalls. Depending on who you ask, the number
ranges from 17 to 28. And
from August to September of 2007, Mattel faced the biggest
recall in the company’s
history.
Reasons for Recall
There are two separate reasons why Mattel recalled 19 million
toys from August to
September of 2007. The fact that both recalls occurred at the
same time makes this the
biggest recall in the company’s history. The first reason toys
were recalled was because of
faulty magnets. The design of these toys included parts with
high-energy magnets,
magnets normally used for industrial purposes that can easily
come loose. These magnets
pose a threat to young children and infants who could easily
ingest the parts and have
them bond together along their digestive tracts. If several
magnets were swallowed, they

21. would pull together in the stomach and rip through stomach
tissue. The strength of the
magnets combined with Mattel’s poor design of the toys made
these products a serious
hazard for young children. On its website, Mattel listed 71
models and makes of toys that
were recalled because of faulty magnets. Toys affected by this
problem included Polly
Pockets, Batman action figures, and Barbie and her dog Tanner.
Some Polly Pocket sets
had been recalled as early as November of 2006.
The other reason Mattel toys were recalled was because high
levels of lead-based
paint were found on the surface of many toys. Mattel had
previously given manufacturers
in China a list of eight paint suppliers that they could use, but
in order to cut costs,
subcontractors used unapproved suppliers. In some cases the
lead content was over 180
times the legal limit. Lead-based paint is dangerous for children
because elevated levels
have been shown to create learning and behavioral problems,
slow muscle and bone

22. growth, hearing loss, anemia, brain damage, seizures, coma, and
in extreme cases, death.
There are 91 models and makes of toys that Mattel placed on
recall because of harmful
levels of paint. Many of the toys coated with lead-based paint
were from Mattel’s Fisher-
Price line.
Recently, China has had numerous problems with the quality
and standards of the
products manufactured within the country. Pet food, toothpaste,
seafood, tires, and toys
are some of the products that had to be recalled from homes in
the United States because
of serious and possibly deadly manufacturing errors.
The business relationship between Mattel and China seemed to
be a textbook
partnership that started over 25 years ago. Mattel currently does
65 percent of its
manufacturing in China, and before this recall was a company
others wanted to model in
terms of its global manufacturing. Mattel has been criticized for
placing too much

23. confidence in its relationship with China and slacking on
quality checks at the
manufacturing sites. At this point, it seems that Mattel will
continue to work with the
same manufacturers in China because its options are limited.
Recall Timeline
In November of 2006, Mattel recalled several Polly Pocket sets
sold with magnets
that could pose a threat to children. In early July of 2007, a
retailer in Europe discovered
a high lead content on some Mattel toys. Upon notification,
Mattel began an investigation
and halted operations at the factory that produced the toys.
During this investigation it
was discovered that there were millions of products that didn’t
conform to safety
standards, many that had been available since 2003. Fisher-
Price started the recall with
1.5 million toys on August 1, 2007 due to high levels of lead-
based paint. The products
containing lead paint were mostly from this division of Mattel
and were all manufactured
in China.

24. On August 9, 2007, China cancelled the export license of two of
the factories linked
to the recalls, Hansheng Wooden Products Factory and Lida Toy
Company. Four days
later, the body of Zhang Shuhong, the boss of the Lida Toy
Company, was found in the
factory workshop. Reports said that he committed suicide by
hanging himself in the
factory. After further investigation, Mattel recalled 18 million
more products on August
14, 2007 because of the possible hazards they could pose to
children swallowing faulty
magnets. And on September 4, 2007, Mattel recalled 848,000
more toys globally because
of high levels of lead-based paint. The U.S. Senate Committee
began scrutinizing
American safety standards for children’s toys and clothing on
August 28. The committee
said it would consider the possibility of creating new legislation
to keep hazardous toys
from children.
Despite the fact that a larger number of toys were recalled
because of faulty
magnets rather than lead-based paint, recall blame was heavily

25. placed on China by global
media. During this time, Chinese media claimed that Mattel
should be accountable for the
mistakes it made rather than use China as a scapegoat. Mattel
eventually listened. On
September 21, Mattel issued a prepared apology to China about
the recall, taking full
blame for the incident. It took ownership of the magnetic design
flaw, claiming that it was
a Mattel design flaw and not a Chinese manufacturing flaw.
Nothing was said about the
paint.
OBJECTIVES
Objective 1: Get all information about the recall to the public
accurately, quickly, and
efficiently.
Objective 2: Reassure consumers, especially parents, that Mattel
is committed to making
safe toys, fixing the problem, and being open and honest.
Objective 3: Take responsibility for the recall. Solve the
problem while maintaining a
stable relationship with China.

26. Crisis Plan
When Mattel realized its company was facing a very serious
problem, it first
contacted the federal agency that oversees toy problems and
product safety. It then
opened a 100-page crisis plan. The fact that the company had a
product defect and
difficulty with its supplier made this recall a problem within its
control. When federal
officials announced the first Mattel recall, 16 public relations
personnel immediately
called reporters at the top 40 media outlets. They told reporters
about a teleconference
with executives and allowed the media to schedule TV
appearances or phone
conversations with top personnel at Mattel.
The day of the recall, Robert Eckert, the CEO of Mattel did 14
interviews on
television and took 20 calls from reporters. Mattel answered
over 300 media requests in
the United States by the end of the week. The company took out
full-page ads in the New
York Times and the Wall Street Journal as well. Mattel also

27. launched a massive online
crusade to inform people about the recall. A link to a crisis
response website was set up
on its webpage right away and updates were posted regularly.
Webcasts and search engine
marketing, also known as pay per click marketing, were used as
well.
There are a few reports (and a lawsuit) that claim Mattel knew
about the defects of
its products long before its announcement to the public, but
since announcing it, Mattel
has constantly been open with the media and its customers. It
claims that although it has
very high standards and thorough quality and safety testing
procedures, “no system can
be perfect.” Mattel also made it clear that it is doing all that it
can to assess the situation
on the manufacturing level.
Apology to China
Mattel’s toy recalls spurred a wave of China-bashing in the
media across the world.
This greatly damaged China’s manufacturing reputation around
the globe. But much of

28. the criticism may have been unwarranted. Many manufacturers
in China claimed they
were being blamed for design flaws created by Mattel. On
September 20, 2007, with
lawyers present, Mattel issued a carefully-worded apology to
China in a meeting with Li
Changjiang, the Chinese product safety chief. The apology was
given by Mattel’s executive
vice president for worldwide operations, Thomas A. Debrowski.
In part of the apology, Debrowski said “Mattel takes full
responsibility for these
recalls and apologizes personally to you, the Chinese people,
and all of our customers who
received the toys.” The apology also took responsibility for
Mattel’s design flaws, a
problem that encompassed a majority of the recalled products
and admitted that toys
affected by the lead-based paint were a very small percentage of
the toys recalled. China
accepted the apology, but Li said that Mattel “should value our
cooperation. I really hope
that Mattel can learn lessons and gain experience from these
incidents, [and they should]

29. improve their control measures.”
The apology may have been later than China would have liked,
but the country hopes that
it will restore consumer confidence in products “made in
China.”
What Mattel is Currently Doing
Those at Mattel have done their best to appear up-front and
completely open about
the recall. On the first page of its webpage, Mattel dedicated a
bold red link to the toy
recall. This link contains information for the recall for all
countries affected in the world.
It tells customers what toys are being recalled, where to bring
recalled toys, and about
Mattel’s three-point check system. Mattel’s three-point check
system covers the steps that
it is currently taking to insure that all its toys are safe for
children. These steps include:
1. Mattel will make sure that manufactures only use paint from
certified suppliers and will
test every single batch of paint from all vendors. If the paint
isn’t up to Mattel’s standards,
it won’t be used.

30. 2. Mattel is increasing control on every level of the production
process and conducting
random inspections at all vendor facilities.
3. Mattel pledges to test all finished toys vigorously before they
reach the consumer. The
toys must meet a series of strict safety standards before they are
put on the market.
4. Mattel assures customers that all vendors are aware of these
new procedures and
Mattel’s strict enforcement of them.
Unit I Essay
Instructions
For this assignment, imagine that you are hired by the Bureau of
Labor Statistics (BLS) as an international economist to analyze
data on the international economy and to provide policy
recommendations to the U.S. government.
Your essay should include the sections described below.
· Introduction: Provide a brief summary of international trade,
and include one sentence on whether you support international
trade or not.
· Discussion: Provide a brief summary of one selected article.
The databases listed below are great resources for locating
articles on international economics.
. Business Source Complete
. ABI/INFORM Collection
· Conclusion: Provide policy recommendations to the BLS on
international trade.
Your APA-style essay should be a minimum of 500 words in
length; this does not include the title and reference pages. You
are required to use a minimum of two sources; at least one

31. source must come from the CSU Online Library (one source
may be your textbook). All sources used, including the
textbook, must be referenced; paraphrased material must have
accompanying in-text citations.
Textbook:
Carbaugh, R. J. (2017). International economics (16th ed.).
Boston, MA: Cengage Learning.