World War Trade

The world economy is now about a year into President Trump’s assault on the global trading system. Richard Baldwin reviews what has happened and suggests where it is all headed in World War Trade (Centre for Economic Policy Research, 2026), a long essay in the form of a short online book. As Baldwin notes: “The working assumption is no longer that trade and investment are safe by default, underwritten by American leadership and Chinese growth. The new assumption is that while World War Trade may go quiet for long stretches, the weapons will remain deployed. … The old assumption that globalisation is `safe by default’ is gone, permanently.” Baldwin offers some reminders of how US leadership used to talk about international trade, referring back to a speech from President John F. Kennedy when he signed the Trade Expansion Act of 1962. Kennedy said: “Today I am signing the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 … It marks a decisive point for the future of our economy, for our relations with our…