The Price of Trade Protectionism: Yes, We Have No Bananas!

The overturning of a 90-year ban on the import of New Zealand-grown apples has highlighted Australia's strict trade-protectionist quarantine policies. Researchers at the Australian School of Business say keeping out foreign produce may address competition comfort levels for industry, but often the real losers are consumers. Policymakers must more carefully weigh the benefits of imports against the perceived threats, they insist. Mad cow disease is definitely not worth trifling with, but the cost of an occasional outbreak of fruit-borne disease is far outstripped by the value of benefits that imports bring to consumers. There's food for thought!