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  3. The Trade Protection Society Doctrine in the Crisis Comparisons to the Depression feature are in almost every discussion of

The Trade Protection Society Doctrine in the Crisis Comparisons to the Depression feature are in almost every discussion of

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问题             The Trade Protection Society Doctrine in the Crisis
    Comparisons to the Depression feature are in almost every discussion of the global economic crisis. In world trade, such parallels are especially chilling. Trade declined alarmingly in the early 1930s as global demand imploded, prices collapsed and governments embarked on a destructive, protectionist spiral of higher tariffs and retaliation.
    Trade is contracting again, at a rate unmatched in the post-war period. This week the WTO predicted that the volume of global merchandise trade would shrink by 9% this year. This will be the first fall in trade flows since 1982. Between 1990 and 2006 trade volumes grew by more than 6% a year, outstripping the growth rate of world output, which was about 3 % . Now the global economic machine has gone into reverse: output is declining and trade is tumbling at a faster pace. The turmoil has shaken commerce in goods of all sorts, bought and sold by rich and poor countries alike.
    It is too soon to talk of a new protectionist spiral. Nevertheless, errors of policy risk make a bad thing worse—despite politicians’ promises to keep markets open. When they met in November, the leaders of the G20 rich and emerging economies declared that they would eschew protectionism and will doubtless do so again when they meet on April 2nd. But this pledge has not been honoured. According to the World Bank, 17 members of the group have taken a total of 47 trade restricting steps since November.
    Modern protectionism is more subtle and varied than the 1930s version. In the Depression tariffs were the weapon of choice. America’s Smoot-Hawley act, passed in 1930, increased nearly 900 American import duties and provoked widespread retaliation from America’s trading partners. A few tariffs have been raised this time, but tighter licensing requirements, import bans and anti-dumping have also been used. Rich countries have included discriminatory procurement provisions in their fiscal-stimulus bills and offered subsidies to ailing national industries. These days, protectionism comes in 57 varieties.
    There are good reasons for thinking that the world has less to fear from protectionism than in the past. International agreements to limit tariffs, built over the post-war decades, are a safeguard against all-out tariff wars. The growth of global supply chains, which have bound national economies together tightly, have made it more difficult for governments to increase tariffs without harming producers in their own countries.
    But these defences may not be strong enough. Multilateral agreements provide little insurance against domestic subsidies, fiercer use of anti-dumping or the other forms of creeping protection.
What does the author aim to convey through the text?
选项 A、The 1930s Depression witnessed many forms of financial protectionism.
B、The depression this year witnessed more forms of financial protectionism.
C、Modern protectionism is more subtle and varied than the 1930s version.
D、When it comes to worldwide depression, it’s unavoidable to use protectionism.
答案D
解析 主旨大意题。本文开头提出不同经济危机所呈现出来的特点，通篇就应对本次经济危机的方法与20世纪30年代应对危机方法的特点的异同展开讨论，并由最后一段做出总结：国际贸易协定、多边协议在为应对经济危机而采取的保护主义措施面前的软弱、无效性。即贸易保护主义是世界经济危机的伴随物。所以，正确选项应该是[D]。
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