Asia, Trade and Globalisation in the Age of Trump

The global trade order faces its biggest threat in decades, with the global rise of anti-trade populism and the increasing challenges posed to the Bretton Woods institutions. World trade growth has almost ground to a halt this year after a prolonged post-GFC slowdown. “Creeping protectionism” is increasing. Most ominously, an anti-globalisation backlash in the West threatens to turn protectionism from “creeping” to “accelerating”. The Brexit vote and recent U.S. elections highlight the political rejection of historically broadly accepted approaches to international economic cooperation. All this matters hugely for Asia, which, more than any other continent, has benefited from recent economic globalisation. Does the new Age of Trump portend the breakdown of the US-led postwar global order? Will the USA withdraw as Asia’s economic and geopolitical “balancing power”? Will China and Chinese-led regional initiatives fill the vacuum? What does this mean for the future of trade and globalisation in Asia? James Crabtree will moderate a discussion of these questions with Danny Quah, Frank Lavin, Razeen Sally and Alex Capri.