Comment by kaashif

> Shipping things that could easily have been made local. Second order cost -- Environmental damage.

One thing I'd like to mention is that sea shipping is actually very efficient, and the things being shipped usually have much more CO2 associated with their production and use than the shipping itself. For shipping cars:

> A cargo ship produces 16.14 grams of CO2 per metric ton of goods shipped per kilometer.

From https://8billiontrees.com/carbon-offsets-credits/carbon-ecol...

If we say a car weighs 2 tons and is shipped 10,000km, that emits 323kg of CO2. But in a year, the average car produces 4 tons of CO2 (in the US): https://www.epa.gov/greenvehicles/greenhouse-gas-emissions-t...

And for food it's similar:

> Transport typically accounts for less than 1% of beef’s GHG emissions: choosing to eat local has very minimal effects on its total footprint.

From https://ourworldindata.org/food-choice-vs-eating-local

I continue to believe that eating locally sourced meat is just a way for people to feel good while continuing to damage the environment 99% as much.

And one last thing:

> As soon as they have a middle class the "advantage" disappears.

And how do these poor countries acquire a middle class without resources or trade?

This isn't to say that I disagree with your overall point that going full on globalist has hidden costs. National security concerns are often not addressed for one.