Because we don't really have a choice, and because it isn't reasonable to expect that one product will cost the same across all countries in the world for many different reasons. That includes cost of shipping, taxes and tariffs on imports, local economic conditions, etc.

Because there is rarely anything they can do about it. It doesn't help me to know a widget it $1 in the EU when I live in the US and they all cost $2 here - I can't exactly hop on a plane and fly there to take advantage of the price differences.

If I live in a developed enough society, I can order from overseas, but often the import duties and shipping costs will negate whatever price advantage there is.

The global west is paying ALOT just to provide in basic needs. This same basic needs apply to every citizen in the world yet the global west accepts to pay a higher price for it.

What choice do we have in the matter? One country can't control the prices in another country, just like one store can't control the prices in another store.

The cost of living is varies drastically across countries. If you're in a small and poor country, 5$ maybe a day's wage. A loaf of bread might then be much cheaper than in a country where the daily salary is 80$. Even though the exchange rate between countries means the loaf is much cheaper in the poor country, its not actually significantly cheaper for the average person living there.

Things will cost different for a lot of reasons. For example, If a fruit doesn't grow in an area the cost of keeping that fruit edibe and in good condition while also transporting it long distance, sometimes over Seas, is going to add to the cost of that fruit.

The cost of goods isn't just the cost of the item. It's the cost of the real estate where the store is (higher in richer areas), the labor to supply that store (higher in richer areas), the cost of shipping (higher in richer areas), etc.

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You're welcome to fly to East Asia/South Asia/Africa and buy their comparatively cheap groceries every time you need to restock the fridge. I'm sure this will be a net-positive for your budget.

There are certain exceptions. Darts, for example. Canadian and American players can save money buying from European sites, even after you factor in shipping costs and currency conversion. And this includes buying American made darts.

Producer prices and transport prices in the west are also higher. It's harder to sell cheaply. Worker wages, more regulation, etc.

It is not possible to sell cheap stuff in the west at a profit, just try, you will fail, there is competition.

We are not accepting it, nobody can afford it anymore, demand is being destroyed and company earnings are falling. Prices will eventually go down, but they were not super high because of a scam or gouging or price fixing, the market price just rose because of high demand and high production cost, worker shortage, energy prices, etc, it had nothing to do with choice or preference or culture

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if you make 1000$ a month and a bottle of water costs 20 cents and I make 10$ a month and a bottle of water costs 2 cents, who is paying more?

While most comments have a rough idea, I am gonna try to make it easier to understand. You might have already heard that the price of a product is dependent on its supply and the demand for this product. Let's take the recent hike in Food prices as an example. Especially if you are in Europe you will have experienced a price explosion for Everything made from flour and sunflower seed oil. That's because most of it came from Ukraine. Before the invasion Ukraine was a poor countries. Not as bad as some African Countries but compared to the EU or US still poor. But they had a lot of area to plant wheat and sunflowers. So there was a lot of supply in the country pushing prices down for Ukrainians. Then Supermarkets in Germany for example realised that the sunflower oil out of Ukraine is way cheaper then the one made in Germany. So they decide to import massive amounts of it from ukraine. Of course shipping something costs money as well so the price in Germany was higher then in Ukraine for the same oil. At the same time Germany is a waaaaay richer country then Ukraine so the people there have more money to spend. So even if the oil is more expensive then the oil in Ukraine, it's still a steal compared to locally produced oil. So people will happily pay the higher price for the Ukraine oil.

Because it's still cheaper or more accessible than travelling, buying and coming back. Which means, of your options for getting that product, getting the one nearby is the cheapest.

Clarification: as opposed to doing what, OP?

Because every step of producing something costs money, and the final product needs to sell at a price that covers the cost of all those steps in order to make a profit. Importing costs money, so that's why the price goes up, and we accept this, because companies simply won't import the products in the first place if they can't profit off of it.

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That’s nice, thank you