Trump, trade and SA: it’s the end of the world as we know it
There are only two silver linings, both faint, in a scenario where US and South African protectionist instincts come up against each other, writes Peter Draper
So Donald Trump will be the next occupant of the White House. Angry whites, predominantly blue collar, voters have responded to his populist messaging. Central to that messaging is the perceived misfortunes of industrial America, in a globalising world. As the Brexit vote showed, and as the rise of populism in Western Europe affirms, the politics of the old industrial west have now shifted decisively in the wake of the global financial crisis. These are sobering days for the world, and particularly for the fortunes of the global trade and investment system. Why? Consider the key contours of a potential Trump trade agenda, and the powers he will shortly exercise should he seek to deliver fully on his promises. Trade features centrally in Trump’s economic plan. At the heart of the Trump ideology is a mercantilist view of the world, in which the US trade deficit is caused by "cheating" trading partners, and so the US, being the most powerful nation on earth, must use trade instruments ...
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