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Many economists, businesses, and politicians continue to rely on the principle of comparative advantage and it still influences import theories and policies. Consequently, countries continue to import products because they can obtain them less expensively abroad. Moreover, while trade policies, regulations, and theories have undergone numerous changes over the centuries, a basic motivation for countries to import goods from other countries remains the same. When certain countries lack goods and resources, they either must import them or make do without them.

In addition, given the technology, labor costs, government incentives, and subsidies of different countries, one country may be able to produce goods more efficiently than other countries. Hence, other countries will seek to import these goods because of price and perhaps quality advantages. For example, other countries import aircraft from the United States, while the United States imports clothing from other countries such as India and the Philippines.

Importing allows countries to achieve higher standards of living by obtaining products and resources that cannot be obtained domestically. For example, in order for the United States to maintain its standard of living, it must import petroleum, since the country cannot produce a sufficient amount to satisfy consumer demand. In addition, the United States also depends on imports for many of its cars, obtaining many of them from Japan. Japan, on the other hand, relies on imports for raw materials to produce and export finished goods such as cars and appliances; such imports help Japanese workers earn higher wages and the Japanese economy prosper.

Events of the 20th century provide evidence that international trade leads to greater productivity, consumption, and living standards. During periods of trade expansion such as the boom after World War II, the global economy has grown dramatically. Conversely, during periods of trade declines such as the Great Depression of the late 1920s and 1930s, the global economy has slowed down. Although trade growth accompanies global economic growth, economists cannot say for certain what the causal relationship is—that is, whether global trade expansion causes global economic growth or vice versa. Nevertheless, most governments and economists believe trade is vital to national and international economic growth.

Despite the advantages of importing, many economists and governments believe that importing goods can lead to the erosion of their national economies—especially when imports exceed exports. In the case of the United States, for example, some contend that importing goods such as cars and appliances leads not only to the loss of jobs for U.S. workers but also to a host of related consequences such as higher welfare reliance, the devaluation of real estate, the closure of plants, and the decline of cities and states. Estimates suggest that the United States loses 20,000 jobs for every $1 billion in the trade deficit.

Importing goods poses other problems such as the tacit acceptance of social values that conflict with domestic values. Importing goods from countries that pay low wages, for instance, can cripple domestic industries that cannot compete because they have a minimum wage, obligations to labor unions, and so forth; such importing also allows the exporting countries to continue to keep their workers impoverished. Furthermore, importing cheap goods, especially textiles, from countries that force employees—even children—to work in sweatshop conditions overlooks the type of treatment of employees that the United States and many other countries condemn.