they have less incentive to lobby
for domestic protection and less incentive to punish their political leaders for failing to
maintain access to foreign markets at historical levels. Accordingly, it will be politically
efficient from the perspective of parties to trade agreements to afford transitory protection to
import-competing industries suffering severe dislocation, at the expense of growing and
prosperous foreign competitors. The escape clause permits such measures, and may thus be
viewed as an example of the first option above for facilitating efficient nonperformance -- a
provision written into the contract that excuses performance under specified contingencies.