Are trade sanctions fair?

There is a subtle kind of self-contradictory comedy in seeing multinational corporations complaining that their competitors are unfairly receiving government subsidies, while they themselves petition government for tax breaks and subsidies of their own. What is described as an ‘unfair advantage’ when it works against you becomes ‘supporting national interests’ or ‘levelling the playing field’ when it works in your favour.

Of course, there are shades of grey, and that’s why the politics of international trade is so complex. No more so than when it comes to ‘dumping’ – flooding a market with cheap product (often below cost price) in an attempt to grab market share, or even put higher-cost competitors out of business. Dumpers are willing to take a short-term financial hit, on the assumption of greater profits once they increase their power in the market.