Government_Policies

Political arguments for government intervention include:  protecting jobs  protecting industries deemed important for national security  retaliating to unfair foreign competition  protecting consumers from “dangerous” products  furthering the goals of foreign policy  protecting the human rights of individuals in exporting countries protecting jobs  Protecting jobs and industries is the most common political reason for trade restrictions  Usually this results from political pressures by unions or industries that are "threatened" by more efficient foreign producers. These unions and industries usually have more political influence with which to pressure governments. The consumer that will always eventually pay extra of the product. protecting industries deemed important for national security  Industries such as aerospace or electronics are often protected because they are deemed important for national security retaliating to unfair foreign competition  When governments take, or threaten to take, specific actions, other countries may impose trade barriers  If threatened governments don‘t back down, tensions can escalate and new trade barriers may be created  This will result in extra cost to the consumer protecting consumers from “dangerous” products  Governments may intervene in markets to protect consumers from “faulty” or “dangerous” goods from other countries. Sometimes such intervention is good for health or safety reasons, but often local pressure groups will cause the government to change “safety” laws and force a foreign producer to change their product design. This may be uneconomical for the producer and so the product is forced off the market. If the product after changing is still imported, then the consumer pays more and the local producer benefits. furthering the goals of foreign policy  Foreign policy objectives can be supported through trade policy  Preferential trade terms can be granted to countries with whom the government wishes to build strong relations  Trade policy can also be used to punish rogue states that do not abide by international laws or norms  (However, it might cause other countries to undermine unilateral trade sanctions) protecting the human rights of individuals in exporting countries  Trade policy can be used to force trading partners to change their the human rights policies  However, unless a large number of countries choose to take such action, it is unlikely to be successful  Some critics have argued that the best way to change the internal human rights of a country is to engage it in international trade