Introduction

It is no understatement to say that trade is essential to the prosperity of the world economy and remains one of the main avenues open to us to increase productivity and growth. The history of trade liberalisation has demonstrated this clearly. By opening markets, the most efficient suppliers get a chance to sell while the less efficient are stimulated to be more competitive. Increased specialisation leads to economies of scale and other efficiencies. Some of the figures in Table 1.1 demonstrate this.