" Until recently, Japan was primarily described as a nation of exports, Eastern Europe was either prohibited by the government or too poor to make use of a wide array of imported goods, and the United States was the world's major exporting power. While an end to international trade would certainly mean less immediate choice for United States consumers, the United States would not suffer as much as many other nations in the short-term. The United States consumers would have to do without as much choice of inexpensive cars, coffee and foods imported from around the world, and would also lack a market to export its considerable agricultural produce. The average United States consumer would likely not have to do without goods per se, but might very well have to pay much more for clothing and other goods produced more cheaply in nations such as China and Vietnam, for example.

However, over the long-term, the lack of available exports in the form of raw materials, such as oil, would certainly have a profound effect on the U.S. economy. The U.S. would have to substantially increase drilling within its own borders in states such as Texas and Alaska, at profound cost to its natural environment. This would also increase the cost of goods and services within the U.S.

Island nations would be most hard-hit by a cessation of trade however. Japan, for example, although it has one of the world's most developed agricultural sectors, is land-poor. Japan has little farmable...

It cannot grow enough wheat, soybeans, or other major crops to feed all its citizens and has one of the lowest rates of food self-sufficiency of all industrialized countries. ("Economy and Industry," 2006, Explore Japan) It must import a high percentage of its food from abroad, and food is already prohibitively expensive in Japan. Japan also must import a large percentage of its energy resources, and were these resources not available from abroad, its manufacturing sector would be substantially curtailed unless other methods of production using sources of power such as electricity or solar power could be deployed to fuel the industry, as Japan does not even have access to much untapped fossil fuel resources like the U.S. While the U.S. has curtailed drilling somewhat by choice, Japan has little choice within its relatively small and resource-poor borders.
Works Cited

Dean, Mark & Maria Sebastia-Barriel. (2004). Why Has World Trade Grown Faster than World Output?" The Bank of England. Retrieved 30 Nov 2006 at http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/publications/quarterlybulletin/qb040304.pdf

Economy and Industry." (2006). Explore Japan. Retrieved 30 Nov 2006 at http://web-japan.org/kidsweb/japan/economy.html

Krugman, Paul. (2006). "Competitiveness: Does it Matter?" The unofficial Paul

Krugman Webpage. Retrieved 30 Nov 2006 at http://www.pkarchive.org/trade/CompetitivenessDoesItMatter.html