Brevet de Technicien Supérieur Commerce International - Session 2003

Epreuve d'Anglais

Durée 3 heures

L'usage du dictionnaire bilingue est autorisé. Les calculatrices sont interdites.

To the north, Canada thrives ; to the south, Mexico limps.

Something unusual is going on in North America.

Canada's economy is booming. More than 300,000 jobs have been added in 2002, consumer spending is rising, housing is strong and its central bank has raised rates three times this year to head off inflation sparked by a strong economy.

Mexico, on the other hand, is either still in recession or is just now on its way out, depending on whom you ask. Employment - especially at labor-intensive factories called maquiladoras near the U.S. border - has taken a deep hit. Economic growth, at least until recently, has been stagnant, and the country is losing business to competitors abroad.

Meanwhile, the USA is somewhere in between. The U.S. economy expanded in the second quarter at a very slow pace, job growth is flat and the federal reserve hasn't touched interest rates all year.

So what's going on? After all, the theory used to be that the Canadian and Mexican economies mirrored the USA's. That's mainly because both of the trade-dependent nations send nearly 90 % of their exports to the USA.

Instead, Canada has been growing at a rate surpassing the USA's while Mexico is only recently beginning to improve.

There are several reasons why the Canadian and Mexican economies responded differently to the U.S. downturn in 2001 and continue to follow separate paths.

Last year, the Canadian dollar depreciated against the US dollar while the Mexican peso appreciated against the greenback. When a currency depreciates, it makes exports cheaper and easier to sell on the world market. When it appreciates, like the peso has, exports become more expensive and much harder to sell.

The Mexican and Canadian manufacturing sectors, key elements of their economies, are very different. Mexico makes more intermediate products, like car doors, that are then shipped to the US factories to be included in final products. Canada, however, manufactures products that are ready to be sold as is, such as stereo speakers.

As U.S. business investments plunged last year, the US factories cut output to match reduced demand. US firms required far fewer parts, putting a damper on Mexican factory output. At the same time, US consumer spending kept growing, keeping demand for finished products high, helping Canada.

And because of the strength of the peso, Mexico's famously cheap labor force has become more expensive. As a result, some firms are leaving for other less expensive labor markets, such as China. A quarter million maquiladora jobs alone have been lost in less than two years. Canada, meanwhile, has been adding workers as its economy stays healthy.

Adapted from USA Today, August 16th, 2002

I - Compte rendu en français (20 points)

Faire un compte rendu en français en faisant apparaître les idées essentielles contenues dans le texte. (200 mots + ou - 10%)

II - Elaboration d'une lettre commerciale en anglais (20 points)

Lettre à élaborer, et à rédiger en anglais selon l'usage commercial courant.

Expéditeur : Marie Meigand, directrice des achats de GIGATREND, 38 rue Victor Hugo, 92230 Genevilliers.

Destinataire : Julie Marshall, directrice export, SNAP Appliance, Inc., 2003 Logic Drive, San José, CA 95124-3218, USA.

Date : 23 mai 2003.

Objet : commande n° 36584/2

Corps de la lettre :

- Commande passée de 40 unités centrales d'ordinateurs, il y a 1 mois.

- Référence: KF 9SZ YF.

- Prix convenu : $ 745 l'unité.

- Vous vous inquiétez du suivi de la commande : la marchandise ne vous est toujours pas parvenue, et vous avez déjà reçu la facture avec un prix erroné de $ 770 l'unité.

- Vous demandez l'annulation de la facture et attendez réception d'une nouvelle facture.

- Vous avez appelé votre transporteur en France qui affirme que les articles ont été expédiés des E.U. mais que rien n'est encore parvenu à ses entrepôts. Vos clients attendent.

- Vous souhaitez :

des nouvelles obtenues auprès du transitaire.

être tenue informée le plus rapidement possible.

- Formules d'usage.

III - Rédaction en anglais (20 points)

Répondre en anglais aux deux questions suivantes :

1. According to the text, what can account for Mexico's economic difficulties ? (l50mots + ou - 10%)
(10 points)

2. What are the advantages and drawbacks of regional trade agreements ? Illustrate with a few examples. (150 mots + ou - 10%)
(10 points)