ESL lesson plan | B2 | Understanding US trade tariffs and economic policy

Summary

This ESL lesson for B2 English students explores US trade tariffs and economic policy through a dynamic news report. Students will enhance their listening comprehension, expand their vocabulary related to international trade, and practice the Past Simple Passive voice. The material utilizes an authentic video from a financial news channel, providing a real-world context for discussions on global economic relations and political decision-making. Through interactive exercises and speaking tasks, students will build the confidence to discuss complex economic topics and express their opinions clearly.

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Activities

A warm-up discussion where students share their understanding of tariffs and their potential impact on economies and consumers.
A listening comprehension activity where students watch a news video about US trade tariffs and fill in the blanks with key vocabulary.
A vocabulary matching exercise with terms like "tariff," "contentious," "retaliation," "commensurate," "certainty," "bluster," and "bandwidth."
A grammar exercise focusing on the Past Simple Passive, explaining its structure and use in news contexts, followed by multiple-choice questions.
A practice section with idioms related to negotiation and policy, derived from or implied by the video's context.
A vocabulary-in-context exercise where students use the learned terms to complete sentences.
A grammar practice section where students convert active sentences into the Past Simple Passive.
A speaking practice session designed to encourage students to use the newly acquired vocabulary and grammar to discuss economic outlooks and policy decisions.

00:00 stock down about 7% right now.

00:02 We have the analyst behind that

00:04 call here to explain. But let's

00:05 begin in Washington with the

00:06 latest news on the tariff front.

00:08 And Meghan Costello has the

00:10 details. Meghan, we had heard

00:11 things were a little contentious

00:12 with the Japanese, which was

00:14 supposed to be one of the first

00:15 deals announced and now this.

00:18 >> Yes. Now this. Kelly, the

00:19 president did post overnight on

00:20 Truth Social that he would start

00:22 sending these letters at noon

00:23 today, telling countries what

00:25 their exports would face to send

00:27 them into the U.S. And now, just

00:29 in the last hour, we got the

00:30 first of those the president

00:32 posted on Truth Social that he

00:33 says he sent to the leaders of

00:35 Japan and South Korea. Very long

00:37 letters here, but some top line

00:38 details to get into these would

00:41 be 25% tariffs on all Japanese

00:42 and South Korean exports into

00:44 the U.S, effective on August

00:46 1st, on top of any tariffs that

00:48 are on that are already in place

00:50 or that are forthcoming in terms

00:52 of the tariffs. He also said any

00:55 retaliation would lead to a

00:56 commensurate increase in the

00:57 tariff rate, meaning if they

00:59 retaliate, he's going to lift

01:00 this tariff rate even further.

01:02 Trump also said that he would

01:03 consider an adjustment if

01:05 countries do open their markets.

01:07 And that's the key, Kelly, is

01:09 that there is no certainty here,

01:11 he goes on to say, hinting

01:13 further, hinting at further

01:14 changes, saying, quote, these

01:16 tariffs may be modified upwards

01:18 or downwards depending on our

01:21 relationship with your country.

01:22 So interesting there that while

01:23 the markets and investors have

01:25 been craving certainty, they're

01:26 not exactly getting it with this

01:28 letter. And Kelly, the way I

01:29 would sort of characterize this,

01:31 even though we are seeing market

01:33 reaction here, is just to

01:34 remember that what this is

01:36 essentially doing is kicking

01:37 back in the reciprocal rates for

01:39 these two countries that were

01:41 announced on April 2nd, South

01:42 Korea was already seeing 25%.

01:44 Japan was at 24%. The white

01:46 House has been threatening for

01:47 weeks. If they didn't strike a

01:49 deal with these countries. We'd

01:50 see those rates kick back in on

01:51 July 9th. Now, that date changes

01:53 to August 1st, but otherwise

01:55 everything else pretty much

01:56 holds the same. So despite all

01:57 the bluster in these letters, we

01:59 are seeing them follow through

02:00 on that threat just delaying

02:02 down the road a little bit

02:03 further. Kelly.

02:05 >> It was interesting to hear

02:05 the Treasury Secretary, Megan,

02:08 who also talked about

02:09 effectively how with 100

02:11 countries that are too small to

02:12 really affect the trade deficit

02:14 that much, we may not have the

02:14 capacity to even do any deals.

02:16 And I wonder what that means.

02:18 >> Yes, that's going to be

02:19 interesting. That's where I

02:20 think you'll just see these

02:22 blanket tariffs have to take

02:23 effect because they there isn't

02:24 enough there. There isn't enough

02:25 bandwidth to sort of negotiate

02:26 deals. And they have said from

02:28 the beginning that they're

02:29 focused on something like the

02:30 top 15 to 18 largest trading

02:33 partners. It would be

02:34 significant if we suddenly see

02:35 huge tariffs imposed on on very

02:37 small countries. It's headline

02:38 worthy and it doesn't bode well

02:40 for certainty and for the path

02:41 forward. But I would also say

02:43 that outside of the top 15 or 18

02:45 markets, we're not getting a ton

02:47 coming in from those countries.

02:49 But we would still see, you

02:50 know, importers having to pay

02:52 those tariffs when they do

02:53 import goods from whatever the

02:54 country might be.

02:55 >> Yeah. I mean, you add it all

02:57 up. We do seem to be tiptoeing

02:59 back to the landscape that was

03:00 initially set out for us on

03:02 April 2nd. But Megan the

03:03 market's up like 15% since then.

03:05 >> Yes. That's really

03:07 interesting I think is that so

03:09 far there's been a lot of

03:10 shrugging off of everything that

03:11 we've seen so far. And I would

03:13 say that's because things aren't

03:14 in place yet. We continue to see

03:16 these tariffs. And even though

03:17 this looks a little bit like an

03:17 escalation, that he really means

03:19 business, he has set these

03:20 letters. They're doing it in

03:21 conjunction with delaying the

03:22 deadline from July 9th to August

03:24 1st. By doing that, they say

03:25 it's not kicking the can down

03:27 the road any further. Officials

03:28 get defensive when you try to

03:29 talk to them about that, but it

03:31 does allow for more

03:32 negotiations. So it means that

03:34 even while the market is

03:35 reacting today, they probably

03:36 have one eye on that

Vocabulary focus

The vocabulary section introduces key terms related to international trade and economic discussions. Students will learn terms such as "tariff" (a tax on imports or exports), "contentious" (causing argument), "retaliation" (action taken in response to an injury or attack), "commensurate" (corresponding in size or degree), "certainty" (firm conviction), "bluster" (loud, aggressive talk), and "bandwidth" (capacity for resources or attention). Students will practice matching these terms to their definitions and using them in context.

Grammar focus

This lesson concentrates on the Past Simple Passive. This grammatical structure (was / were + past participle (V3)) is essential for describing actions in the past where the focus is on the action or its receiver, rather than the doer. It is particularly useful in news reporting and formal contexts to maintain objectivity and emphasize events, aligning perfectly with the economic news video used in the lesson.