BUSI 303 Week 3 Discussion Board Forum 2 Thread Example

Reviewed by Thomas Kerrigan, MBA, CPA · Liberty University · Updated

This BUSI 303 Week 3 sample thread takes the tariff as its key term from Hill's chapter on government policy and international trade. After defining the term, it summarizes a study of the tariffs the United States imposed in 2018 on steel, aluminum, washing machines and a wide range of Chinese goods, which found that the cost was passed almost entirely to American buyers. It then connects the finding to the textbook's account of who gains and who loses from a tariff and to research on how an earlier surge of imports from China affected American workers. Liberty University BUSI 303 makes the tariff post a 50-point Module/Week 3 task within its BS in Business Administration course.

CourseBUSI 303 International Business (BUSI303)
Module/Week3
AssignmentDiscussion Board Forum 2 Thread
Paper typeKey term discussion thread
Lengthabout 336 words (thread and replies). Course guide: a thread of at least 200 words, not counting the key term definition and citations, summarizing an article and discussing how it relates to a chosen chapter key term, with page references and APA citations of the 3 articles read
FormatAPA 7 citations and reference list
Points50
SchoolLiberty University Online
ProgramBS in Business Administration
Where it sitsModule/Week 3 in Liberty's published BUSI 303 course guide; current sections can differ
UpdatedOctober 2026

Free sample paper for BUSI 303 Week 3

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Discussion Board Forum 2 Thread: Tariffs as an Instrument of Trade Policy

BUSI 303 International Business, Discussion Board Forum 2 Thread

Thread by [Student Name]

The thread follows the course's key-term format; the textbook and the three articles cited are real, and textbook locations are given by chapter.

Key Term

A tariff is a tax levied on imports or exports; specific tariffs are a fixed charge for each unit imported, and ad valorem tariffs are a proportion of the imported good's value (Hill & Hult, 2018, ch. 7).

Article Summary

Why this part earns its pointsThe summary reports the study's scope as well as its finding, so the connection does not overreach.
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Amiti et al. (2019) examined the tariffs the United States imposed during 2018 on steel, aluminum, washing machines, solar panels and about $250 billion of imports from China, along with the retaliatory tariffs other countries imposed on American exports. Using detailed monthly import data, they found that the prices American buyers paid, including the tariff, rose by roughly the full amount of the tariff, meaning foreign exporters did not cut their prices to absorb it. They estimated that by the end of 2018 the tariffs were costing American consumers and importing firms about $3 billion a month in added taxes, plus further losses from reduced efficiency.

Why this part earns its pointsThe connection tests the textbook's account of tariffs against what the 2018 duties actually did to prices.
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Connection to the Key Term

Hill and Hult (2018, ch. 7) explain that a tariff raises government revenue and protects domestic producers, but that consumers lose because they pay more, and that the overall effect on the economy is usually a reduction in efficiency. The 2018 evidence fits that analysis closely. The tax was written on foreign goods, but the bill landed on American buyers. Fajgelbaum et al. (2020), studying the same tariffs, reached a similar conclusion about prices and found that gains to protected producers and tariff revenue fell short of the losses to buyers.

The textbook also explains why governments impose tariffs despite these costs, citing the political influence of concentrated groups that benefit. Research on import competition shows why such pressure arises. Autor et al. (2013) found that American local labor markets more exposed to rising imports from China experienced larger losses in manufacturing employment and wages, which helps explain the appeal of protection in those regions.

For a business that imports components, the practical lesson is that a tariff should be treated as a cost increase the business will probably bear, and that diversifying suppliers across countries reduces exposure to sudden policy changes.

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References

Amiti, M., Redding, S. J., & Weinstein, D. E. (2019). The impact of the 2018 tariffs on prices and welfare. Journal of Economic Perspectives, 33(4), 187-210. https://doi.org/10.1257/jep.33.4.187

Autor, D. H., Dorn, D., & Hanson, G. H. (2013). The China syndrome: Local labor market effects of import competition in the United States. American Economic Review, 103(6), 2121-2168. https://doi.org/10.1257/aer.103.6.2121

Fajgelbaum, P. D., Goldberg, P. K., Kennedy, P. J., & Khandelwal, A. K. (2020). The return to protectionism. The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 135(1), 1-55. https://doi.org/10.1093/qje/qjz036

Hill, C. W. L., & Hult, G. T. M. (2018). Global business today (10th ed.). McGraw-Hill Education.

What the BUSI 303 Week 3 instructions ask

Module/Week 3 of BUSI 303 covers three of Hill's chapters, on political economy, international trade theory and government policy toward trade, with two presentations, a website, two LearnSmart chapters and two forum threads. This time the term comes from the trade chapters, but the recipe holds: define it, summarize one article, link the two in 200 or more counted words, and document everything. Its replies are due in Module/Week 4 alongside Exam 1, so the thread is also good preparation for the exam. Writing it carefully means reviewing the trade chapters once more before the test. Tariffs and subsidies are common choices. Hill's chapter 7 covers them.

How this BUSI 303 Week 3 example is built

The thread uses the forum's required parts as headings. The definition distinguishes specific and ad valorem tariffs as Hill does. The article summary reports what researchers found about the 2018 tariffs' effect on import prices and on American consumers and firms. The connection section links that evidence to the textbook's analysis of a tariff's winners and losers, adds research on why trade policy became popular in places hit by import competition, and closes with an implication for a business that imports components. All three articles read are cited in APA format, as the guide requires. Political opinions are left out so the evidence carries the argument. The headings let a grader find each required element quickly.

BUSI 303 Week 3 grading rubric: where the points go

The rubric looks for a correct definition of a term from chapters 2, 6 or 7, an accurate summary of a relevant article, a connection section of genuine analysis that reaches 200 words together with the summary, page references to Hill, APA citations for three articles and correct English. On a trade policy topic, accuracy about what a study found, including its scope and limits, matters. Threads that turn into opinion about current politics rather than analysis of the term, or that cite news commentary in place of the articles read, lose points. Dollar figures from the article should be quoted exactly and with their time frame. Reporting the study's monthly cost estimate accurately is a simple way to show careful reading.

BUSI 303 Week 3 help: mistakes that cost points

Choose a term you can connect to real evidence, such as tariffs, quotas or local content requirements. Read three articles, and summarize the one with the clearest findings. Keep politics out of the analysis; focus on what the evidence shows about costs and benefits. Use the textbook's framework, for example who gains and who loses from a tariff, to organize your connection. Include a brief business implication. Cite the textbook location for the definition and give APA citations for all three articles, remembering that neither counts toward the 200 words. A one-sentence business takeaway at the end shows the term matters beyond the exam. Explain any economic term, such as pass-through, in plain words. Save the article PDFs so page references are easy to add.

Related BUSI 303 sample papers

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BUSI 303 Week 3 questions, answered

What is the BUSI 303 Forum 2 Thread?

BUSI 303's second key-term post, worth 50 points, pairs a trade or political-economy term with one article and a documented analysis. The analysis applies the term to a country.

Where can I find a free BUSI 303 Week 3 sample paper?

This page offers a complete BUSI 303 Week 3 key-term thread on tariffs and research on who paid for the 2018 U.S. tariffs.

What is a tariff?

A tax levied on imports or, less often, exports; a specific tariff is a fixed charge per unit, while an ad valorem tariff is a percentage of the good's value.

Who paid for the 2018 U.S. tariffs?

Research found that import prices including the tariff rose by about the full amount of the tariffs, so American firms and consumers bore most of the cost rather than foreign exporters.

What else is due in BUSI 303 Module/Week 3?

The second faith and integration thread and LearnSmart for chapters 2 and 7 are due, with Hill's chapters 2, 6 and 7, two presentations and a website.

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