In
creeping protectionism, the actions taken by nations interfere with exports of other nations, even if they are legal under current trade rules.
Examples of
creeping protectionism include "anti-dumping penalties, the use of health or safety rules (no UK beef is imported by France, even now!) to stop competition, and the imposition of inappropriately high minimum wages or labor standards."
(Dapice, D.,
The Global Economic Slowdown and Its Implications, Fulbright Economics Teaching Program 2001-2002, visited 2008-09-29)
"The overall trade policy picture is unfortunately somewhat bleak. It is not a dramatic change for the worse that we are witnessing but rather, in the words of Alan Greenspan (the [former] chairman of the U.S. Federal Reserve Bank), ‘
creeping protectionism.' For example the number of safeguard measures are on the rise, as are the number of anti-dumping measures initiated by developing countries. It is the effect of all these small protectionist steps that together may pose a threat to the international trading system."
(Kommerskollegium National Board of Trade,
Facts and Figures in World Trade and Trade policy 2003: Excerpts from the National Board of Trade's report, visited 2008-09-29)
