Those models don't take industrial development into account. If you assume comparative advantage is static and a 3rd world country will always be a 3rd world c

Those models don't take industrial development into account. If you assume comparative advantage is static and a 3rd world country will always be a 3rd world country, removing trade barriers appears to be more efficient. In the 1840s it was used to justify exporting food from Ireland while the Irish died in a famine: http://www.historyireland.com/18th-19th-century-history/food-exports-from-ireland-1846-47/ http://www.historyireland.com/18th-19th-century-history/food... So it's not like this is news.