Some Ethical Issues in Trade Policy: Management Ethics versus the Law

There are a number of ethical issues in the area of international trade that affect managers. This article will address two ethical issues that have been almost totally neglected in the literature -- antidumping and sanctions. Antidumping laws are special interest legislation. Rather than protecting the general public, they are used by domestic producers to feather their own nests at the expense of the general public. Using the force of government to redistribute income in one’s own direction is prima facie unethical conduct. Economic sanctions, such as embargoes and blockades, often have a noble purpose, at least on the surface. Yet when one looks beneath the surface, one finds questionable practices and outcomes that may be viewed as unethical. The author calls for the abolition of antidumping laws and an individualistic approach to sanctions.