AN OUTSIDE VIEW

Protectionism is a benefit only to sectional interests, paid for by taxpayers and consumers. Where the protection applies to agricultural produce, the beneficiaries are not even farmers, but owners of farmland, as the higher prices for produce due to the reduced competition means that the farmers end up paying higher rents. Where the protection applies to manufactured goods, the resulting lack of competition means that over-priced and poor quality products are imposed on the unfortunate public in the "protecting" country. The EU's agricultural policies are a blatant example of how taxpayers and consumers have been exploited for decades; food is over-priced, to the benefit of owners of agricultural land. In other words, nearly everyone loses from protectionism. Retaliation is pointless, since its main effect is to harm those in the countries that retaliate. It is obviously difficult for producers if developed countries "dump" their surpluses in third world countr...