Trade barriers could threaten global economy

Casey Berry
03/25/2009
10:00 am
By: Anthony Faiola

Trade barriers could threaten global economy

A new report claims that 17 out of 20 nations are trying to avoid protectionist steps that could cause a global trade war. Some of these countries include China, Russia, and The United States. The World Bank said that these countries are trying to limit their flow of imported goods. This report said this is “a worrying trend toward protectionism as countries rush to shield their ailing domestic industries during the global economic crisis.” What’s even worse is that this report came out one day after Mexico put “new” restrictions on up to 90 U.S. products. In April they are having a meeting in London where all the heads of each state will come together and try to get a response about the economic crisis. The heads of the 17 nations avoiding the protectionist steps will be present at the meeting. The World Bank said that global trade is in its biggest decline in 80 years. World Bank president Robert Zoellick said “leaders must not heed the siren-song of protectionist fixes, whether for trade stimulus packages or bailouts.” He said that “economic isolationism” can make things be like they were during the Great Depression. Some countries are putting new requirements on their exports and it is costing other countries a lot more to receive imports.
In my opinion all these countries are just looking out for themselves. It’s not just about each country anymore, our whole entire world is economically screwed. We need to stop trying to just help ourselves and start looking at the big picture. If we could start doing this then I think that we could beat this economic slump that we’re in. We’re definitely not going to get out by trying to cut each other’s throats with higher restrictions. In the end we all need to improve our economics so why not try to work together to improve as a world instead of just focusing on each individual country.