Have we reached "peak trade" and is globalisation now facing a downswing? What are the implications for monetary policy? Alan Taylor, External Member of the Monetary Policy Committee at the Bank of England discusses the evolution of world trade, drawing on historical perspectives from the first age of globalisation in the 1800s up to the present. New headwinds have recently put a brake on global trade. However, as in past trade downturns, these may not persist forever. Looking forward, we still have far to go to exploit the full potential for global integration, as the various limits arising from geography and technology, institutions and policies continue to ebb and flow.