For long, trade hovered confidently over the Asia Pacific region as its vital growth engine. As average tariffs fell from 17 per cent in 1989 to 5.3 per cent in 2018, regional trade multiplied—faster than the rest of the world—along with jobs and incomes. Increasing integration even helped the region to bounce back from shocks as severe as the 2008–09 global financial crisis. Escalation of geopolitical tensions seems to have unsettled trade from its perch. As rivalries heightened and criticism of globalisation grew in recent years, the multilateral trading system on which Asia’s prosperity and security had been based was challenged and the WTO’s relevance called into question.
Reinventing global trade
Volume 13, No 2: April - June, 2021
For long, trade hovered confidently over the Asia Pacific region as its vital growth engine. As average tariffs fell from 17 per cent in 1989 to 5.3 per cent in 2018, regional trade multiplied—faster than the rest of the world—along with jobs and incomes. Increasing integration even helped the region to bounce back from shocks as severe as the 2008–09 global financial crisis. Escalation of geopolitical tensions seems to have unsettled trade from its perch. As rivalries heightened and criticism of globalisation grew in recent years, the multilateral trading system on which Asia’s prosperity and security had been based was challenged and the WTO’s relevance called into question.