For example, its prolific film industry had continued to make some black-and-white films into the 1970s, in part because of the difficulty of importing enough supplies of colour film.
According to Smith, the difficulty of importing certified GM-free animal feed (90% of which comes from North and South America) has meant the shortfall has had to be made up by more expensive feed, which puts Irish meat producers at a serious disadvantage.
There are also worries that friction with China over exchange rates and other issues could damage the interests of American tech firms which have Chinese subcontractors and factories.The tech industry is also concerned about the difficulty of importing skilled labour.
"The difficulty of importing international standard goods to a country which has seen significant fighting over the last year pushes up the price of the goods available for the expatriates in the country," says Steven Kilfedder, ECA's manager of Cost of Living and Remuneration Services.
During the Napoleonic Wars, sugar beet production increased in continental Europe because of the difficulty of importing sugar when shipping was subject to blockade.
Because of an editing error, an article in Business Day on Thursday about the difficulties of importing natural gas misstated the name of a company that builds import facilities.
Yet with the richest overseas stores of gas in distant regions like West Africa and Southeast Asia and the energy industry under technical and financial constraints, the difficulty of increasing imports remains considerable.
The systems were often in remote locations, and the difficulties of purchasing imported spare parts and fuel have often made them unreliable.
"We are fully aware that there is not a single sentence about medicine sanctions against Iran but … sanctions against Iranian banks and having no way to transfer money to and from Iran have created a great deal of difficulties for the imports of medicine to Iran, and it's the people of Iran who are bearing the brunt," the manifesto says.
The announcement was the latest in a string of setbacks for Corus, whose creation was supposed to overcome deep problems facing the industry, including overcapacity and the difficulty of competing with cheaper imports from Eastern Europe when the pound is strong against the euro.
11 This latency period can present considerable difficulties for diagnosis of imported malaria cases in non-endemic countries, as the presenting symptoms appear to be unlinked to recent foreign travel.
