Final answer:
BSE caused significant trade restrictions on British beef due to health concerns, harming the British beef industry and affecting international relations. These events highlight how interconnected international markets are and the need for global cooperation to address such issues.
Step-by-step explanation:
The economic and political burdens caused by BSE (bovine spongiform encephalopathy) include trade restrictions and loss of confidence rather than increased government revenue, improved international relations, or economic growth and stability. The confirmation that BSE could jump to humans in the form of variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) led to countries imposing bans on the importation of British beef. This resulted in significant economic harm to the British beef industry and affected international relations, with countries enacting protective measures to safeguard their food supply and public health. Trade restrictions can prevent stronger protectionist measures, which might be favored by domestic special interests, by fostering international agreements. While improved technology and the reduction of trade barriers have generally promoted global economic growth, issues like BSE have illustrated how interconnected and vulnerable international markets can be to such occurrences. This necessitates a global effort to address problems affecting trade and political relations.