Reflecting on recent history, 2016 proved to be a watershed year for the international economic landscape, one that was characterized by major stumbling blocks. Key among these were the June referendum in the United Kingdom, which prompted the country’s “Brexit” decision to leave the European Union (EU), and the victory of Donald Trump in the United States presidential election that November. Fueled by a blend of
nostalgia for past glories and misleading rhetoric about immigration, the Brexit discourse tragically undermined the merits of economic integration. Today, the decision to leave the EU has left the UK grappling with the consequences of high inflation and stagnant growth. In parallel, Trump’s “America First” trade policies unnecessarily escalated a trade war with China, causing disruptions in the global supply chain. These events precipitated a paradigmatic shift in international trade from a rule-based order to a “power-based disorder.” The subsequent emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic and the outbreak of the Ukraine war have only compounded these complexities, plunging the global situation into deeper uncertainty.
This article deliberates on the appropriate trade strategy that Japan should pursue in this era of unprecedented uncertainty.
Read the whole chapter here.
The views, conclusions and recommendations expressed in this report are solely those of its author(s) and do not reflect the view of the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung, or its employees.