trade liberalization

Syllable breakdown

Dictionary meaning

the process of reducing or eliminating government-imposed restrictions on the free exchange of goods and services between countries, including tariffs, import quotas, subsidies, and regulatory barriers; trade liberalisation has been pursued through multilateral negotiations under the GATT and its successor the World Trade Organization, through regional trade agreements such as the EU single market and NAFTA/USMCA, and through unilateral policy reforms; proponents argue that liberalisation raises aggregate welfare by enabling specialisation according to comparative advantage, while critics contend that it distributes gains unequally, undermines domestic industries and labour standards, and constrains governments' ability to pursue industrial policy