Nathalie Heidema, Chapter 12, Question #12

People and businesses do things that make them better off so is it with (international) trade and globalization; the benefits from them far exceed the costs involved. Trade makes us richer by freeing our time and so allowing us to do what we can do the best - and thus be productive. Productivity, then, is what makes us rich and specialization is what makes us productive. Trade allows us to specialize ad therefore it's so essential. "Trade makes the most efficient use of the world's scarce resources." The downside of it is that it also destroys (especially low-skilled) jobs (even though in the long run they are replaced by new, more efficient ones). The economic gains from trade outweigh the losses, but the losers lose badly. To avoid that, protectionism tries to save jobs. Although it's clear that they saved a certain amount of jobs, it's difficult to estimate how many new ones could have been created. And so by cutting off the trade in order for businesses to survive, a country is made poorer and less productive. That's how by imposing taxes on Brazilian oranges , the government Mae a trade barrier out of this tax. The orange juice became $0.30 more expensive and by taking this money from common citizens it benefited merely the interest group - the orange growers in Florida. 

Trade is also good for poor countries, too. It gives them access to developed markets, export industries pay higher wages and create more competition for workers (which raises wages elsewhere) and also they are introduced to foreign capital, technology and new skills. 

Economic development is not necessarily just bad for the environment. It's true that with production pollution is involved, but as we get richer we care more about the environment and have more resources to help it. It's tricky with the climate change though. As China and India are getting richer, they produce more and build more plants that release a lot of CO2 emissions. The solution would be promoting growth in ways that minimize environmental damage and impose carbon tax.