The future of the international trade system

Abstract

Today, the world is witnessing a debate between free trade (doctrine) and protectionism (doctrine). Those two are, opposite trade policies. The world’s main concern is the future of the international trade system. The issue of Trade is a global modern phenomenon that has an immense impact on countries and international relations. Changes came along the election of Donald Trump as the 45th US president. Among those changes, is Trump’s adoption of protectionist policies in opposite to Obama’s liberalist policies taken during his presidential term. One of those protectionist policies Trump has taken; is abandoning a Free Trade Agreement such as the TPP. TPP was brokered by Trump’s predecessor President Barack Obama, and this action declared an end to the era of multinational trade agreements that defined global economics for decades. President Trump took a more aggressive stance against foreign competitors as part of his “America First” approach (the US has indicated a change in its trade policy through an initiative recognized as America First, which plans to establish jobs in the US, especially in manufacturing(production), and guarantee that US employees are aggressive in foreign markets.). Trump demonstrated that he would not follow old rules, effectively discarding longstanding Republican orthodoxy that expanding global trade was good for the world and America; and that the United States should help write the rules of international commerce. President Trump’s decision to scrap the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) reversed a free-trade strategy adopted by presidents of both parties dating back to the Cold War, and aligned him more with the political left. Another measure (related to the protectionist policy so far adopted by the US President) taken by Trump is renegotiating the NAFTA. Not only could Trump's moves affect everyday consumers in the US, they also could upend macroeconomic policies that have been in place for more than half a century. There is a major shift in the US position on international trade, the US has always been the champion of free trade and open borders for decades. After decades of expanding regional integration in Europe, in 2016 voters in the UK decided to exit the EU. The UK activated EU Treaty Article 50 to terminate its five decades of EU membership within two years. In January 2017, the president of the US declared his state’s exit from the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), provoking uncertainty among the 11 other signatories. These events adopt extensive and polarizing debates on the costs, benefits, and distributional effects of free trade and free trade deals. Recent political developments imply to have centralized expanded attention on the role that trade performs in our lives and have advanced new questions such as whether we are witnessing the end of free trade deals. After the election of Trump as US President and in accordance with his trade program (plan), protectionist measures and strategies are being used, NAFTA conditions are being remediated. There is an advancement of different forms (models) of protectionism. The world is heading toward a post-liberal era.