Does Covid-19 mark the death of financial globalisation?

AS COVID-19 continues to ravage economies across the world, it has now become a common refrain that economic globalisation is passé. Indeed, even before the onset of the pandemic, there were significant concerns that the world was moving towards an era of trade de-globalisation, fuelled by the US-China trade war.

The spread of the pandemic has only amplified such concerns, setting in motion a wave of supply chain-related trade disruptions. Protectionist policies have also risen globally, as some larger countries in Asia and elsewhere have turned inwards as a means of becoming more self-reliant.

It is unfortunate that countries are abandoning their commitment towards free trade, when there is a near unanimous consensus that trade globalisation is net positive for a country - that is, gains to the winners (exporting firms and consumers) far exceed the losses incurred by firms and workers in import-competing sectors.