Could Protectionism Make the World Less Resilient, More Unequal, and More Conflict-Prone?

©iStock/William_Potter

There is no strong evidence of a retreat from globalization, but international trade and the multilateral system that underpinned it are under attack, and their future depends on policy choices.

Today, there is still no conclusive evidence that international trade is deglobalizing. When measured in US dollars, global trade growth slowed after the global financial crisis in 2008–09 and declined sharply at the onset of the pandemic in 2020. But since then trade has rebounded to the highest value ever.

Read on to see how there are some growing threats to global trade.

Slowbalization After Global Financial Crisis

©iStock/Anna Shalygina

Globalization has seen ebbs and flows over the decades. According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the “Slowbalization” that followed the global financial crisis has been characterized by a prolonged slowdown in the pace of trade reform, and weakening political support for open trade amid rising geopolitical tensions.

As the Chart of the Week shows in this link, globalization plateaued in the decade and a half since the global financial crisis. This latest era is often referred to as “slowbalization.”