保护主义

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保护主义(protectionism)

利用关税、补贴、进口配额或其他对进口商品的限制来对国内工业进行保护、避免同国外竞争的政策。主要的保护性政策是，政府徵收关税，提高进口物品价格，使进口物品较之国内较低廉的产品不再具有消费吸引力。进口配额是限制进口商品的数量，这也是保护政策之一。历史上的战争和经济萧条往往导致保护主义政策的增加，而和平和经济繁荣则更加鼓励自由贸易。保护主义政策在17～18世纪重商主义下的欧洲很常见。英国在19世纪放弃了很多保护性政策，在第一次世界大战之前，整个西方世界的关税都很低。经济和政治上的混乱导致欧洲在1920年代关税壁垒的提升，而大萧条时期的保护政策更是急剧增加，造成了世界贸易的剧烈紧缩。美国有较长的保护性政策历史，其关税在1820年代和大萧条时期达到顶峰，但在1947年成为签定「关税暨贸易总协定」（GATT）的国家之一，关税因此降低。虽然有GATT这样的协定，但是当许多国家的工业受到国外竞争的强烈冲击时，采用保护主义的呼声仍然会响起。亦请参阅trade agreement、World Trade Organization。

English version：

protectionism

Policy of protecting domestic industries against foreign competition by means of tariffs, subsidies, import quotas, or other handicaps placed on imports. The chief protectionist measures, government-levied tariffs, raise the price of imported articles, making them less attractive to consumers than cheaper domestic products. Import quotas, which limit the quantities of goods that can be imported, are another protectionist device. Wars and economic depressions historically have resulted in increases in protectionism, while peace and prosperity have tended to encourage free trade. Protectionist policies were common in Europe in the 17th-18th century under mercantilism. Britain abandoned many of its protectionist laws in the 19th century, and by World War I tariffs were low throughout the Western world. Economic and political dislocation led to rising customs barriers in Europe in the 1920s, and the Great Depression spawned an epidemic of protectionist measures; world trade shrank drastically as a result. The U.S. had a long history of protectionism, with tariffs reaching high points in the 1820s and the Great Depression, but in 1947 it became one of 23 nations to sign the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), which substantially reduced customs tariffs. Despite trade agreements such as GATT, calls for protectionism are still heard in many countries when industries suffer severely from foreign competition. See also trade agreement, World Trade Organization.