Adam Smith made reference to the term in claiming that mercantilist economic doctrine taught nations "that their interest lies in beggaring all their neighbours".
[5] "Beggar thy neighbour" strategies of this kind are not limited to countries: overgrazing provides another example, where the pursuit by individuals or groups of their own interests leads to problems.
This dynamic was dubbed the "tragedy of the commons" in an 1833 essay by British economist William Forster Lloyd,[6] though it appears as early as the works of Plato and Aristotle.
These trade wars follow the prisoner's dilemma game theory analysis developed through Nash equilibrium in which two countries are poised against each other to produce in the market.
The game does not finish here, as the other company, being usurped on the second move, will then itself become protected through export subsidies, leading to a trade war between countries.