Cost of protectionism

Mint reports

The imposition of export duty of Rs300 per tonne in the recently submitted Union Budget is threatening to put Goa’s barge owners out of business.
Barge owners in the coastal state transport iron ore to ships waiting at Mormugao port that then feed the hungry steel mills in China.
In just 15 days since the duty was announced, the number of trips made by barges has dwindled. From 10-15 trips in a fortnight, it has come down to four to five, according to Atul V. Jadhav, managing director, New Era Shipping Ltd and president of the Goa Barge Owners Association. “Very soon, we will be out of business,” Jadhav says.
Goa exports about 36 million tonnes of iron ore out of India’s total ore exports of 100 million tonnes. The barge owners are paid Rs59 per tonne per trip, by ore exporters such as Sesa Goa, Chowgule, Dempo and Timblo as per an agreement between the Goa Barge Owners Association and the Goa Mineral Ore Exporters Association.

We are so used to read stories about how people lose jobs because an inefficient business is allowed to close, or when consumers are allowed to buy cheaper imports. But we hardly get to read about opportunities lost because of government restrictions.