The twins of trade and competition have been a fact of economic life since the Phoenicians built boats. Their geographic reach grew through the expeditions of Marco Polo and Christopher Columbus and continues to grow through the internet. These twins are not new, but they are now at their highest point ever. Thanks to modern technology and transportation, the economic effects and challenges of trade and competition arrive faster. Their power is such that neither empire nor nation is immune from them. Protectionism and isolationism are a recipe for disastrous decline, not for survival and success. From its inception, the heart of global trade was a marketplace wanting to acquire goods perceived as excellent or desirable, not available at a similar or bet-fer level of quality and at a competitive price from local sources.
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