[lo_zamoyski]

I think you're trivializing the economic problem and failing to show an appreciation of how economies work. It is most certainly a problem that the cotton and textile industries in Africa were wrecked by the influx of free or cheap second hand clothing. Textiles are the entry point into industrialization. So not only does that particular industry get hit, but you kill the seed from which other industries are developed. Expertise, technological know-how, an industrial culture, and economic independence are stifled. We're also talking about a basic good here on probably the most resource rich continent on the planet, not some rare substance that only exists in one place on earth.

This is essentially price dumping.

[henvic]

I’m not trivializing it, and there is nothing wrong with price dumping.

Furthermore, it’s a myth that a specific industry is the entry point to industrialization, period. It might have been historical in most or even all places, but that doesn't mean that it's a required stepstone.