Covid-19’s blow to world trade is a heavy one
And pre-existing conditions seem to worsen the prognosis
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THE 2010S WERE not a happy decade for proponents of global trade. Though fears of an increase in protectionism following the financial crisis of 2007-09 did not materialise, nor did the growth of the 1990s and 2000s re-establish itself. Finance was tamer; China was richer and developing its internal market; transport was no longer getting cheaper. As a share of global GDP, neither global trade, foreign direct investment, nor stocks of cross-border bank lending returned to their 2000s peak.
This article appeared in the Briefing section of the print edition under the headline "Torn apart"
From the May 16th 2020 edition
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