Is ‘Buy China’ a Protectionist Threat?

(New York Times – Catherine Rampell)

“Government investment projects should buy domestically made products unless products or services cannot be obtained in reasonable commercial conditions in China,” a Beijing government edict said.

The Chinese government quibbled with the “protectionist” characterization of its edict – not surprisingly, given how energetically the Communist leadership protested the protectionist portions of the United States’ stimulus package. But economists have fretted about it nonetheless, fearing that it may be a potential harbinger of a new wave of protectionist policies throughout the developing world.

Is this a trend free trade advocates should really worry about? Should we expect other emerging economies to start hoisting up trade barriers, under the impression that the current crisis has somehow debunked capitalism? Read more here.