Global trade policy: A year-end stocktaking

Even as East Asian regionalism gives some hope, 2023 ends with growing apprehensions

For trade policy, this last year has been ominous. The few positive developments towards greater economic integration in accordance with the World Trade Organization (WTO) provisions pale in face of the increased defiance of the rules-based trade order, most notably evident in unilateral trade policy measures formulated and implemented by developed economies, individually, led by the United States (US) and in alliance with one another.

The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) in the US and the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) by the European Union (EU), which became effective in January and October 2023, respectively, have been the most significant expressions of