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Economics

[1881] Of hypocritical protectionist

Do not resort to protectionism they say!

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 20 (Bernama) — Malaysia has cautioned World Trade Organization (WTO) members not to resort to protectionist measures as it can adversely impact the growth of global trade.

In making the call, Malaysia said countries should continue to adhere to their commitments to WTO when introducing domestic measures to counter the current economic and financial crisis.

“Malaysia remains non-protectionist despite the current global economic and financial crisis,” the Ministry of International Trade and Industry said in a statement here today. [Don’t Resort To Protectionist Measures, Says Malaysia. Bernama. January 20 2009]

And not 48 hours later:

Malaysia has banned the hiring of new foreign workers in factories, shops and other services.

The government said the move was to protect its citizens from unemployment during the economic downturn.

It has also told employers that if they want to cut back their workforce they must sack foreign staff first. [Malaysia bans foreign recruitment. BBC. January 22 2009]

It is hard to take the government seriously these days.

By Hafiz Noor Shams

For more about me, please read this.

3 replies on “[1881] Of hypocritical protectionist”

I don’t think either could be used in the same context.

The first article is reffering to global trade. Whereas, protectionism in that context would be refering to imposing restrictive tariffs and also market accesibilities.

The second one is touching on domestic labor which is still a heavily regulated, controlled & closed area anywhere in the world.

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