We All Pay For Protectionism - CleanTechnica

The article "We All Pay For Protectionism" from CleanTechnica discusses the broad negative impacts of protectionist trade policies on consumers, small businesses, entrepreneurs, and manufacturers. Protectionism, through increased taxes and trade barriers, distorts markets and leads to higher costs for consumers, who end up overpaying for products. Small businesses face squeezed margins and reduced sales due to higher costs of goods, threatening their viability. Entrepreneurs and manufacturers struggle because domestic industrial capabilities and capital are often insufficient to compete with global supply chains, particularly those in China, which benefits from massive industrial ecosystems and a large, skilled engineering workforce that accelerates product development and manufacturing. The article emphasizes that no single country produces all components of modern electronics or technology products; instead, global supply chains involve parts sourced from multiple countries. Protectionism that isolates countries weakens this interconnected technology ecosystem, making innovation more difficult and costly, especially for startups and small businesses that rely on off-the-shelf parts and cannot afford custom manufacturing. Even large