The Myth of the Global Trade Consensus and India’s Pragmatic Pivot

For most of the time since the end of the Cold War, the idea that international trade would eventually involve lower tariffs, increasing multilateralism and a shared set of rules managed through organizations such as the WTO had been comforting. Now there is no consensus on that anymore. The international trading system will enter a period where tariffs, industrial policy, supply chain security and strategic autonomy will come back into play as key elements of economic policy making. Major economies will be engaging in a contradictory exercise of defending multilateral rules while implementing policies aimed at protecting their domestic industry. [...]