Las protestas de cientos trabajadores británicos al grito de "British jobs for British workers" continúan. En este contexto el alcalde tory de Londres, Boris Johnson, escribe en el Telegraph una buena defensa del libre comercio.
Let us imagine that the boot were on the other foot. How would we feel if some of the hundreds of superb British engineering consultancies were suddenly told that they were not welcome in China, or Italy, or any other market in which they have flourished over the past century?
It would be a disaster for those companies, and for their workers, and for Britain's ability to earn foreign exchange. Imagine if the world were convulsed by nationalistic and chauvinistic strikes along the lines we are seeing in Britain today. There would be a catastrophic collapse in world trade, and a fall in global economic activity. The overall pie of wealth would shrink, and so would our national slice.
What kind of British industry do the protectionists think would emerge? Some sort of crazy autarkic system in which we tried to substitute imports with home-made PlayStations and home-made shoes and brassieres once again produced in the cotton mills of Lancashire? We would not only be forcing British consumers to accept second-rate goods; we would be impoverishing them by obliging them to pay more. It is terrifying that some serious politicians – including members of the Labour Cabinet – seem prepared to support these strikes, and to side with the Luddite trades unions and the far-Right BNP. Now is the time to stick up for free trade, and the huge benefits it has brought.
