The longer the global downturn lasts, the more tempting it becomes for governments to use protectionism to expenditure switch their way out of the crisis (See Chapter 15 and .

Global Trade Alert is an organization that expected exactly this trend and started to keep track of protectionist measures as the crisis unfolded. By now it has generated a rich database.

The database has become popular for news organizations to keep track of the sheer volume of tariffs and retaliations. Simon Evenett uses the database to document the "assault on world trade" ranking countries cleverly by  

– number of measures imposed (#1 Russia, 20 measures)

– number of product categories affected (#1 China, 329 products)

– percent of sectors affected (#1 Algeria, 68% of all sectors protected)

– number of trading partners affected (#1 China, 163 countries)

Test drive the web site and the database, pick your favorite country and  find out which measures were implemented, and which trading partner was affected. Can you surmise why particular countries choose protect particular industries or impose tariffs on particular trading partners?