Editor,
Amanda Vickers and Michael Woods (Letters, 18 Nov.) are archetypes of latter day mercantilists seeking to exclude foreign products with the specious aim of protecting the local economy. In fact they are arguing for unnecessarily high unemployment and a poorer economy. Even a cursory reading on the law of comparative advantage, which has been validated time and again in the international arena, would enable them to see why this is so.
I commend the efforts of John Key, Tim Grosser, Helen Clark, Mike Moore and many others to put the interests of New Zealand consumers and the New Zealand economy ahead of the fallacious dogma of trade protectionists.
Peter Farley
Waikanae
