In 2019, global foreign trade volume fell for the first time in the last decade. Trade war between US and China and the ongoing structural economic slowdown in China are the key factors to blame on. More deeply, many people in many countries have become angry about globalization, favouring populist groups which promise to reverse the process.
Leaving behind a challenging year 2019, we face an even more turbulent year 2020. Engine of global economy is freezing at the beginning of 2020 as coronavirus epidemic spreads rapidly. Foreign trade flows could contract further this year.
A key question arises: would the coronavirus epidemic foster the deglobalisation? Or, on the contrary, it would make the globalisation process more sustainable by increasing diversification of global supply chains?
