“Policies designed to limit competition from low cost foreign countries are mistaken. We should not worry about cheap foreign imports.” Discuss.

In principle, most countries should not worry about cheap imports, and any policies designed to limit competition from low cost foreign countries will be detrimental to the economic interests of individual countries and the global economy in the longer term.
“We must not forget that the path of open trade and open capital markets that we have travelled in the last 30 to 40 years has brought unprecedented growth, greater opportunity and a better life for people across the world .” (Byers: 2000)
There are, however, a number of short-term considerations that may constrain the policies of different trading nations, or groups of trading nations, in permitting unrestrained importation of cheap products and services from low cost countries.
To avoid having to implement these policies, governments and businesses need to harness increasing efficient manufacturing and distribution systems, so industries are able to outsource products and services which can be produced more cheaply in ...