RFB 2018 — Questão 12 · Língua Inglesa - Compreensão e Interpretação de Texto

Questions 11, 12, and 13 refer to the following text.

Although we tend to think of globalization as a

modern phenomenon, the hallmarks of its activity,

from free trade zones to duty rates, have been

around for millennia. Evidence of customs activity

5 has been excavated all over the world, from the

ports of ancient Greece to the Great Wall of China.

The evidence suggests that complex systems of

controls and taxes on traded commodities were in

existence well before industrialization, as well as the

10 reasoning behind them. It was easy to see among

small populations that unmitigated dependence on

foreign merchandise would indebt and stress the

community.

Scholars believe that the earliest customs fees

15 were actually voluntary, and offered by travelling

merchants as a bribe to sovereigns for considerate

treatment. Over time, this bribe became mandatory.

It was called ‘duty,’ a fee charged for the privilege

of trading in a particular kingdom. The collection

20 itself was outsourced to tax farmers, who would

use any means necessary — including violence —

to obtain what had become a key revenue source

for monarchies. The first written customs tariff was

developed in Palmyra (present day Syria) and was

25 engraved in stone. However, professional customs

offices and officials were introduced by ancient

Rome.

Despite major advances, the essence of customs

has neither disappeared nor changed. While today’s

30 agencies screen for a variety of novel threats, from

security to the environment, protecting the local

market is the motivation behind every decision,

even if it is not always clear to the importer.

(source: Border Bee, A brief history of customs, retrieved on 11 September 2018 from <https://borderbee.com>. Adapted.)

Without ignoring the fact that globalization is a very complex phenomenon and based on the information given in the text, one can correctly consider globalization: