GLOBAL trade has surged over the past 25 years. People are trading with one another more than ever before. Global trade today is almost 30 per cent of the world economy, in real terms. This measure of globalisation has doubled since 1990. However, in recent years the growth of global trade has stalled. In particular, trade in goods (rather than trade in services) has stalled. In fact the world might have hit peak trade.

HOW DID GLOBAL TRADE GROW?

Making things has become more complex. This helped the surge in global trade over the past 25 years. In the 1970s products tended to be made locally. A country would import some things it could not make itself. If a country does not have oil, it has to import oil (or use other sorts of energy). Oil and other basic goods aside, countries made their own things.