“This paper attempts to make sense of the post-crisis state of play in international trade, by taking a forward look at emerging markets and global trade policy. After describing the political and economic context for international trade up to 2007/8, the paper summarises the crisis-induced deglobalisation and its differential impact on the West and emerging markets. The West and emerging markets are compared in a survey of the global economic climate, following macro and microeconomic interventions to combat the crisis and the
apparent return to ‘big government’. This is followed by an assessment of crisis-related
protectionism, and then a ‘review of the troops’: the major players in global trade policy, starting with the US and EU, and covering Japan and major emerging markets (China, India, Brazil, Russia and South Africa). Finally, the World Trade Organization(WTO)and Group of 20 (G20) are discussed and observations are made about the regional and global economic governance of emerging markets.”
