Ren leaned back, his eyes narrowing slightly as he processed Mike's point, his mind clearly working to connect the dots between the economic theory and the real-world implications.
"That makes a lot of sense," Ren said, his voice dropping an octave as he entered a more contemplative state. "I actually read a paper on that recently, specifically regarding agricultural markets in the Global South."
"The core argument was that 'development framing' is essentially a sophisticated linguistic veil."
"Larger economies use it to maintain high import barriers on their own sensitive crops, all while forcing smaller partners to strip away their protections for manufactured goods."
"It's a lopsided exchange wrapped in the language of cooperation."
"That is the exact pattern," Mike said, a sense of grim satisfaction coloring his tone.
