Comércio internacional, industrialização e desenvolvimento econômico

Abstract

This work was prepared in February 1964 as a background for the preliminary studies for the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, then in course at the Brazilian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Stressing the importance of international trade in the industrialization process and, consequently, of the economic development of underdeveloped countries or those in course of development, the author points out the gap betwen the commercial policies of protectionism generally adopted by countries on the way to development, including those which have already reached an advanced stage of industrialization, and the principle of free trade, defended and theoretically justified by the classical economists as being the most suitable for promoting rapid economic development and raising the standards of living of peoples. To this end, an initial comparison was drawn between the Principle of Comparative Advantage and the doctrine of free trade, and followed by an analysis of the policy of free trade with regard to underdeveloped countries, involving the examination and rectification of certain hypothesis that are explicit or implicit in the formulation of the Principle of Comparative Advantage but not necessarily observed in practice, chiefly in the underdeveloped countries. The hypothesis under review are as follows: a) hypothesis regarding the stability of consumers' preferences and of the availability of factors; b) hypothesis of full employment; c) hypothesis with regard to elasticity of supply and demand on the international market; d) hypothesis on the effects of import restrictions on the volume of trade; e) hypothesis of the maximization of real world income as the sole social objective of trade. The author concludes by justifying measures in restriction of imports and complementary steps that may be taken, within limits, by developing nations with a view to speeding up the process of industrialization and diversification of their economies, emphasizing the need to revise the rules by which international trade is regulated (GATT) — rules that are not favorable to underdeveloped nations.