… is from page 28 of Pierre Lemieux’s superb 2018 monograph, What’s Wrong With Protectionism?:
We must remember that the usual way of speaking about “countries” importing or exporting is merely a linguistic shortcut. Individuals and firms are the ones that import or export, not countries. Countries or societies are collections of individuals, not super-organisms. All benefits accrue to individuals and all costs are paid by individuals.