The WB expects the global economy to contract for the first time since WWII in 2009 and world trade is to decline to the lowest level in 80 years.

A trade dispute has just exploded between Washington and Beijing following the imposition of tariffs on Chinese tires imported into the US.

China’s internet community has gone viral on the topic. And many in the West are thinking. “Isn’t this type of reaction a bit out of date? Given China’s economic power, if they want to sell tires in another country, they can just go ahead and buy a tire manufacturer there. The West has enough broke businesses.”

With the G20 summit opening tomorrow in Pittsburgh, people are wondering what kind of world the aftermath of the financial crisis is likely to produce in the years to come.

The tendency, as we have seen, is to go tribal.

Forbes is heralding the end of Thomas Friedman’s “Flat World” and the beginning of a new “era of decreasing trade”.

I can’t help sensing a strong feeling of hysteria around the whole thing.

Yes, the world is changing. May be much faster than Friedman or anybody else had predicted. But the answer is not to find refuge in protectionism.

Times call for much more creative solutions. Let’s see what comes out of tomorrow and Friday.

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One Response to “Globalisation Blues”

1. Chiropractic Marketing says:

   February 9, 2010 at 11:05 am

   Globalisation has become a buzzword in the new era of international relations. Basically, it is a process of expanding trade and commerce all over the world by creating a borderless market. But it has had a far reaching effect on many aspects of life. With the development of sophisticated communications media, rapid technological progress, and rapid transportation facilities, the world has come closer. We can now learn in an instant what is happening in the farthest corner of the world and travel to any country in the shortest possible time. Countries of the world are like families in a village. They can even share their joys and sorrows like next-door neighbours. If one country is in distress, others can immediately come to its assistance. If we can build up an atmosphere of mutual understanding and co-operation through this globalisation process, our world could certainly be a better place to live in.