Economic factors: more open trade versus protectionism

The government of any country must decide whether it wishes to trade with other countries openly and without restrictions or whether it wishes to protect its own industry by erecting barriers that prevent, limit or raise the price of goods and services from abroad. In doing the latter it is likely to face equivalent barriers when its own businesses wish to sell their goods and services abroad. Decisions to trade with other countries openly and without restrictions are usually made by groups of countries acting together. 

More open trade

The EU is an example of a free trade area, as its a group of countries that agree to trade with each other without erecting any barriers to trade. This encourages competition between firms in the different member countries, and as a result, fosters greater efficiency in the delivery of goods and services and lower prices for consumers. The WTO is a group of over 160 countries that are committed to the encouragement of free and fair international trade through the elimination of trade barriers. It aims to ensure that trade flows as freely as possible. 

Protectionism

Protectionism means the extent to which a government uses controls to restrict the amount of imports entering the country. The UK's position on protectionism is determined by its membership of the EU, which has a policy of free trade among member countries and a common external tariff barrier for goods and services coming from non-member countries. 

A protectionist policy makes use of import…