Which of the following is a form of protectionist policies?

Protectionism (protecting against imports) has arisen in various forms. These include:

Tariffs

A tariff is a tax on imports, which can either be specific (so much per unit of sale) or ad valorem (a percentage of the price of the product). Tariffs reduce supply and raise the price of imports. This gives domestic equivalents a comparative advantage. As such, tariffs are distorting the market forces and may prevent consumers from gaining the benefit of all the advantages of international specialisation and trade. The impact of a tariff is shown in Figure 1 below.

Which of the following is a form of protectionist policies?

Figure 1 Impact of a tariff

The tariff has the effect of shifting the world supply curve vertically upwards by the amount of the tariff. The level of imports will fall from QaQd to QbQc. The government will also raise revenue, shown by the blue shaded area. The level of domestic production will increase from 0Qa to 0Qb.

Quotas

Quotas have the effect of restricting the maximum amount of imports allowed into an economy. Once again, they reduce the amount of imports entering an economy and increase the equilibrium price within the market. The government receives no revenue from a quota, as it does with a tariff, unless it can set up a system of licences.

Exchange controls

The government could limit the amount of foreign currency available for paying for imports. These are not allowed amongst member states of the European Union (EU), for example, and have become more difficult to sustain in a world of highly mobile capital.

Export subsidies

Export subsidies allow exporters to supply the market with more product than the natural equilibrium would have allowed. Foreign consumers will enjoy increased economic welfare as the price of their purchases fall. Domestic employees might enjoy more wages and job security. But taxpayers are footing the bill for this. Domestic firms might divert trade into exports and ignore the home market. This could lead to increases in domestic prices.

The impact of a subsidy is shown in Figure 2. The supply curve is shifted vertically downwards by the amount of the subsidy and this leads to a lower equilibrium price and a higher quantity being traded.

Which of the following is a form of protectionist policies?

Figure 2 The effect of a subsidy

These 'expenditure-switching' polices are normally not allowed under membership conditions of both the WTO and EU.

Voluntary export restraints (VER's)

Some quotas are voluntarily agreed between countries. This happened on a significant number of occasions with Japanese firms (e.g. cars, televisions, videos) during the 1990s. Where the quotas have been agreed, they are known as Voluntary Export Restraints (VER's). In fact over 200 VER's were in force in the early 1990s. So why did the firms agree to these restrictions voluntarily? Well, the answers to this are varied. Often it may have been because they felt it would help avoid more punitive restrictions, but sometimes it was in their interests. Where the Japanese firms had a significant cost advantage over the domestic producers, the voluntary quotas meant that they could charge significantly higher prices. The higher margins they earned more than made up for the restricted number they sold and profitability was maintained or improved.

Other protectionist measures

Countries can also use a range of other protectionist measures to restrict imports. These might include:

  • Administrative obstacles - countries can set administrative hurdles. For example, they may require significant levels of paperwork and then deal with these processes slowly making it difficult for importers to compete on a level playing field with other firms.
  • Health and safety standards - countries may set onerously high health and safety standards for goods that are imported, once again making life difficult for importers.
  • Environmental standards - countries can set high environmental standards that they know only domestic firms are likely to be able to achieve, once again making life difficult for importers.

31) Which of the following is a form of protectionist policies?A) patentsB) tariffsC) foreign direct investmentD) bribesAnswer:B

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