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Protectionism, the fear that a nation is hurt in engaging in international trade, has recently become a popular topic of discussion within nations. Many countries errect tariffs, quotas, and support volunatry export restrictions in an effort to protect domestic industries from foreign competition. The World Trade organization has a system in which it can easily determine whether a nation is engaging in protectionist behavior by calculating how nations tax imports. After some complicated calculations, the World Trade Organization, based on the tariffs that are imposed by a country, can indicate to the world community which nations are engaging in such behaviors. More and more, nations are taking other measures to protect their industries from foreign competition and restrict trade. They are putting up "health standards," that forbids another nations goods to enter a country that doesnt meet a certain standard. These standards, sometimes bogus, can be seen in the issue of United States beef not being permitted into the European Union because of risk factors associated with hormone treated cows. The WTO came to the conclusion that the EU's alligations were false, yet the EU continues, even till today, to ban US beef. What changes do you think the WTO should undergo to have a more forceful power within the international community?
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