The new protectionism and the limits of structural adjustment

However sharp the clash between the industrial countries' notions of a world economic order and those of the developing countries, one point is gaining increasing importance for both camps: the fight against spreading protectionism. Rising import barriers in the North restrict the developing countries opportunities to increase their foreign currency earnings, to come to grips with their debt problems and to push ahead with industrial development. Those concerned with economic policy in the North fear an escalation of trade discrimination that would gradually neutralise the allocative function of the market, hamper recovery from the present recession, encourage inflation and lead to the inefficient organisation of production throughout the world. Why is protectionism so difficult to halt in spite of the unanimous condemnation of it?