World trade in the Trump era

The election of Donald Trump is the clearest expression so far of the growing anti-globalisation sentiment across advanced economies. Initially at least, we think that his bark will prove to be worse than his bite, but it would be foolish to rule out the possibility that he implements some of his more radical proposals at a later stage. In any case, Trump’s victory has killed off hopes of further trade liberalisation and, with populism rising elsewhere, it may herald a new era of protectionism.