Market forces must be allowed to prevail in the retail sector and “protectionist” measures to discourage shopping overseas should only be short-term, according to Environment Minister Marc Bean.He was speaking as the House of Assembly debated legislation that hikes duty on personal items brought in from overseas by local residents from 25 percent to 35 percent.The hike has been in place since the bill was tabled on November 4, and also restricts the $100 duty-free allowance to one member of a household travelling together.Premier Paula Cox said the move will encourage people to shop locally and save local jobs, while recouping money Government has lost through offering payroll tax breaks to retailers.The restriction on the duty-free allowance only lasts until March 31, but the Premier said the Customs duty hike should be considered permanent (see separate story).For his part, Mr Bean said he would like to see it abolished as soon as possible.Noting the massive lines of people who queued up for Black Friday bargains as Bermuda stores offered up to 40 percent off, he said this demonstrated market forces at work.He argued that retailers cannot rely on “protectionism” by Government long-term.He said his concern over protectionism meant he had reservations about the idea when it was first mooted.“If you want to survive in Bermuda, you have to be more competitive, you have to offer better products and services at lower prices,” he urged retailers.Reiterating his concern that the measure should only be short-term, he said: “The Premier has presented a Christmas gift to Bermuda retailers but they will have to step up to the plate themselves.”Other MPs to offer their views on the topic included Minister of Youth, Families and Sport Glenn Blakeney, who accused the “merchant class” in past history of “gouging” customers with high prices.He claimed that is the reason they remain inflated now and why shoppers started shopping abroad.He accused Opposition MP Grant Gibbons, who is a retailer, of wanting to side with the shopper but being “disingenuous” in doing so.“What is it? Nothing but pandering,” he alleged.Shadow Transport Minister Patrica Gordon Pamplin admitted shopping overseas, but said she does not take special trips to do so.“I am just as comfortable in Target as I am in Nordstrom. I buy more in Target than I do in Nordstrom. That’s where my pocketbook goes,” she revealed.This caused Mr Blakeney to shout across the floor at the well-heeled MP: “Those are pretty shoes. Those are not Target shoes!”“No, they are not,” agreed Mrs Gordon Pamplin.She went on to express sympathy for mothers with large families who can’t afford to shop for school uniforms in Bermuda, so do so overseas.“It really is suggesting we are being a little insensitive to the plight of some,” she said.Speaker Stanley Lowe interjected so say the purpose of the legislation as a whole is to benefit “the community as a whole, not individual cases”.Mrs Gordon Pamplin replied: “But the individual cases make up the whole.”During the debate, Shadow Finance Minister Bob Richards said many residents felt that they were being punished by the legislation for shopping abroad, while the problem faced by the retail sector is a loss of customers caused by falling numbers of tourists and foreign workers.He argued that the legislation would do nothing to discourage shopping overseas, saying that many Bermudians go away to shop for the wider selection and lower prices.He noted that his wife likes to shop at Saks Fifth Avenue when they are in New York, and that he bought an element for their stove on Amazon for $129 after discovering that a local retailer would charge $400 and take six weeks to import the item.He described the measures as using aspirin to combat an infection, saying: “The aspirin might help the pain, but it’s not going to cure the infection.”Health Minister Zane DeSilva fired back, criticising Mr Richards for not leading by example and shopping locally.“Here he is, a Member of Parliament telling us that his wife shops in Saks and then he shops online,” he said. “I think we let the people of Bermuda decide who wants to support the people of Bermuda.”Mr DeSilva said the downturn is not just a Bermudian problem, noting that the Cayman Islands have lost 10,000 foreign jobs.He dismissed the claims that Bermudians felt punished by the increase in duty saying he had received nothing but positive feedback, and that the businesses the legislation is aimed at helping have supported it.“We are trying to maintain 4,000 jobs in the retail sector. That is what this is about,” he said. “We have been planning quite well, I think, and the people have shown us by voting as they have done, and they will vote again soon.”Government backbencher Walter Roban said he understood that local businesses have a disadvantage in competing with overseas businesses, but said that meant local retailers need to work harder.“We have done a lot of things to support them, but fundamentally they should be helping themselves and they should be doing what they can to be more marketable and attract customers,” he said.He noted that several stores locally held Black Friday sales and praised them for their initiative.“I’m sure the Premier has more tricks up her sleeve, a sleeve I’m sure she has purchased here in Bermuda,” Mr Roban said.