Plurilateral cooperation in response to aggressive unilateralism?

Abstract

The international trade order is under unprecedented pressure as a result of the unilateral decision by the Trump administration to increase U.S. tariffs by an order of magnitude to 15- 20 percent or higher on imports from most countries. This paper reflects on where the global trading system may be heading given recent events, focusing on potential responses by U.S. trading partners, distinguishing between revitalization of multilateral trade cooperation in the WTO, expansion and deepening of preferential trade agreements and issue- or domain-specific plurilateral agreements among groups of economies.