Why local content measures are considered ‘backward backdoor protectionism?’

Introduction

My two previous columns (April 30 and May 7) were devoted to, respectively, the main findings of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) 2013, and the World Bank’s 2013 evaluation/research of the lessons to be learned from global experiences with local content requirements/policies (LCRs) in the oil and gas sector. Regrettably, space in those columns was not enough for me to offer readers a basic schedule, capturing for their convenience the main findings. At the end of last week’s column I had indicated that I would rectify this at the start of today’s.