Social Science (087) — AI-generated practice question

Developing countries need to retain some trade barriers even after joining the WTO for the following reasons:

1. To protect domestic industries and farmers: Agriculture provides bulk of employment and GDP in developing countries. Sudden foreign competition can destroy livelihoods of small producers and workers.

1. Unfair practices by developed countries: Developed countries like the US give massive subsidies to their farmers, allowing them to sell products at abnormally low prices in world markets. This creates unequal competition, making it necessary for developing countries to protect their producers.

1. Support until competitive: The government must support small producers to improve their performance until they become strong enough to compete globally.

Thus, immediate and complete liberalisation would be unfair and harmful to the poor in developing countries.

Source: Globalisation and the Indian Economy, Chapter 4

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• The examiner expects 3 distinct points for 3 marks — one point per mark is a safe structure.
• Key terms to use: trade barriers, subsidies, domestic producers, fair globalisation.
• The contrast between the US giving farm subsidies while WTO forces developing countries to remove barriers is the core example — always include it.
• Avoid writing a long essay; keep each point tight and factual, drawn from the passage.