Countries are increasingly opening trade investigations against China and other nations as the global recession drags on in a trend suggesting there might be a surge in protectionist measures next year, according to a report released today.
The second quarter of this year saw a 12 per cent rise in investigations against the same period in 2008, according to research by Chad Bown, an economics professor at Brandeis University and fellow at the Brookings Institution. Such investigations are opened at the request of domestic industries calling for new import restrictions to protect their businesses.
Many economists have warned that the global economic crisis may prompt countries to resort to protectionism as domestic industries cry out for help, as in the Great Depression of the 1930s.