Seismic shocks are hitting global trade simultaneously – and the map is being redrawn in real time.
A war in the Middle East has shut down the Strait of Hormuz, cutting off a quarter of global energy exports and sending oil prices surging. The US Supreme Court has torn up the tariff rulebook, collapsing country-specific rates into a blanket levy that hands windfalls to China and Brazil while leaving former dealmakers out in the cold. Finally, a growing bloc of economies is countering US protectionism with new and expanded free trade agreements – even as they continue to put up barriers against China in the same breath.
