新编国际经贸英语文摘

Since the time of the ancient Greek philosophers, there has been a dual view of trade : are cognition of the benefits of international exchange combined with a concern that certain domestic industries (or laborers, or culture ) would be harmed by foreign competition. Depending upon the weights put on the overall gains from trade or on the losses of those harmed by imports, different analysts have arrived at different conclusions about the desirability of having free trade. But economists have likened free trade to technological progress: although some narrow interests may be harmed, the overall benefits to society are substantial. Still, as evidenced by the intense debates over trade today, the tensions inherent in this dual view of trade have never been overcome.