Activity 01
Structured Academic Controversy: Infant Industry Protection for Solar Panels
Assign pairs to argue either that the US should protect its solar manufacturing sector from Chinese competition or that it should buy cheap Chinese panels and invest the savings elsewhere. Each pair must engage seriously with the opposing evidence before both sides work together to write a joint recommendation that acknowledges the strongest points from both positions.
Explain the 'infant industry' argument for protectionism.
Facilitation TipDuring the Structured Academic Controversy, assign roles explicitly and require each group to present both their assigned argument and the counterarguments they anticipate before the debate begins.
What to look forDivide students into small groups. Assign each group either the 'infant industry' or 'national security' argument for protectionism. Ask them to develop the strongest possible case for their assigned argument, then present it to the class. Following presentations, facilitate a class debate where students critique the presented arguments using economic reasoning.
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Activity 02
Case Study Analysis: National Security and Semiconductors
Groups read a short briefing on the CHIPS Act of 2022, identifying the national security argument used, the cost of domestic semiconductor production versus the import alternative, and the risk the policy is designed to hedge against. Groups write a one-paragraph evaluation of whether the economic cost of the CHIPS Act is justified by the security benefit it provides.
Critique the national security argument for trade barriers.
Facilitation TipFor the Case Study Analysis on semiconductors, have students map supply chains visually to see where vulnerabilities actually exist versus where industries claim they do.
What to look forPresent students with a hypothetical scenario: A new domestic solar panel manufacturing company is struggling to compete with established Chinese producers. Ask students to write a short paragraph explaining how they would apply the infant industry argument to justify government protection for this company, and then write a second paragraph critiquing their own justification.
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Activity 03
Gallery Walk: Protectionism Arguments Around the World
Post five stations with brief case studies: Japan's rice protection, EU agricultural subsidies, US sugar quotas, India's solar tariffs, and Australia's automotive industry (which ended protection). Groups rotate and annotate each: identify the argument used, estimate who bears the cost, and assess whether the policy achieved its stated goal.
Justify the economic arguments for free trade.
Facilitation TipDuring the Gallery Walk, provide a one-page summary of each protectionist policy with the key economic question for students to answer as they rotate stations.
What to look forOn an index card, have students write one specific example of a good or service that might be protected under the national security argument. Then, ask them to write one sentence explaining the potential economic cost to consumers of protecting that specific item.
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Generate Complete Lesson→A few notes on teaching this unit
Teachers approach this topic by treating protectionist arguments as real policy claims, not straw men to dismiss. Research shows that students learn best when they see how economic concepts like externalities, market power, and information asymmetry apply to trade policy choices. Avoid presenting protectionism as an irrational mistake; instead, help students see the strategic thinking behind it and the conditions under which it might be warranted.
Successful learning looks like students using economic reasoning to evaluate protectionist claims, not just agreeing or disagreeing with free trade. They should be able to identify when protection is justified by market failure and when it serves private interests instead of the public good.
Watch Out for These Misconceptions
During the Structured Academic Controversy on infant industry protection for solar panels, watch for students assuming protection is always permanent.
During the Structured Academic Controversy, direct students to examine South Korea’s time-bound industrial policy timelines and contrast them with failed permanent protection cases like Latin American import substitution, ensuring they see the role of sunset clauses in successful infant industry arguments.
During the Case Study Analysis on national security and semiconductors, watch for students accepting industry claims without scrutiny.
During the Case Study Analysis, require students to apply the three national security criteria (genuine criticality, no viable alternative, stockpiling feasibility) to specific semiconductor claims, forcing them to distinguish between valid strategic concerns and protectionist justifications.
After the Gallery Walk on protectionism arguments around the world, watch for students concluding that all protectionism is equally harmful.
After the Gallery Walk, have students categorize the policies they examined into targeted, time-limited cases versus broad, permanent ones, using the economic reasoning from the Gallery Walk stations to explain why the distinction matters.
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