Biden's frozen trade policy

[WASHINGTON] Global economic growth since World War II has been an unprecedented success. Compared to the first half of the 20th century, growth has been both more rapid and more widely shared around the world, leading to dramatic increases in life expectancy and health conditions in developing countries.

Trade liberalisation was an important factor in that progress. Among developing countries, those that opened their economies up to international trade experienced rapid growth. South Korea, Chile, China and India in the 1990s are prominent examples of successful trade liberalisation, but there are many others.

The United States led the post-war process of integration, both by maintaining its own very open economy and by helping to establish the World Trade Organization (WTO). The WTO's articles govern the rules of trade and enable negotiation of multilateral trade arrangements, including reciprocal tariff reductions. Without this international rule-of-law foundation, trade liberalisation and the resulting economic growth could not have proceeded as it did. Importantly, because the WTO is a multilateral institution, it guarantees the rights of all countries, large and small.