An onslaught of protectionism will change global trade

By Cerian Richmond Jones

What’s going on with global trade? 2023 should have been a disaster. America and China entered an all-out trade war, with export bans, import tariffs and investment restrictions. Europe agonised over a riposte to the Inflation Reduction Act (ira), America’s plan to kickstart manufacturing with $1trn in subsidies and tax incentives. India threw up import bans of its own. War in Ukraine played havoc with grain supplies and shipping. The World Trade Organisation, enfeebled by America’s disengagement under Donald Trump, looked on in horror. Predictions about the death of trade came thick and fast.