Global imbalances will continue to fuel fracturing

The renewed widening of global imbalances has become another faultline in the fracturing of the world economy, and will continue to provoke trade barriers in the coming decades. With overall imbalances most prominent in the US, further tariffs aimed at reducing imports from China are likely, especially under a Trump presidency, while other DMs will probably follow suit. However, an era of de-globalisation looks unlikely, meaning imbalances will remain a feature of the world economy.