Vox eBooks
What World Leaders Should do to Halt the Spread of Protectionism
As the global slowdown spreads and deepens, protectionism is back. Despite recent pledges by G20 and APEC leaders, tariffs are being raised in developing countries and industrialised nations have launched a slew of investigations into �dumped� imports that are likely to raise tariffs in coming months.
The futility of protectionism in a global recession is not a new lesson - every world leader knows it exacerbated the Great Depression. But leaders find themselves torn. Their heart tells them to help industries and workers under stress; their head tells them protectionism will backfire.
This eBook collects essays on what global leaders must do to halt the spread of protectionism. The authors � world-class economists from around the globe � identify three areas where world leaders should act:
� World leaders must finalise the outlines of the WTO's Doha negotiations, ideally at a ministerial meeting in Geneva this December. WTO rules remain the world's best bulwark against 1930s-style trade wars. This is no time to allow the WTO to languish.
� All nations should commit to a standstill on raising their applied tariffs and other forms of protection.
� Industrialised and developing nations should refrain from initiating new antidumping cases, and postpone imposing antidumping duties wherever possible. Now is not the time to be swayed by the mirage of �fair trade� and the sirens of economic nationalism.
