T HERE have been numerous recent analyses of the differences between the nature and development of trade in the igth century and that in the 2oth century. Some discussions have concentrated on the implications of these differences for the process of economic development; I others have provided prescriptions of policy for the less-developed countries. Prominent among the latter is a recent article by Raul Prebisch, setting forth a recommended commercial policy for these countries.2 Prebisch' position as Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Latin America makes his proposal of considerably more than academic interest, and it is the purpose of the present paper to examine critically the main line of argument, with particular attention to the points of difference between it and the tariff policy generally recommended in neo-classical economics.