International trade: Smarten up to talk the talk

International trade is currently under fire from many sides. Protectionist trade policies are on the rise, putting an end to the decade-long March of free trade. Making sense of the daily headlines and having an informed opinion on your own has rarely been more important than it is now. Our work aims to explain the driving forces behind international trade, its history, how it shaped the world, its economic models, issues ranging from job losses to the environment and why buying local often makes no sense. We summarize the most important academic literature on these topics in a non-technical, educational manner. If the reader feels enabled to form their own views on the pros and cons of international trade and that they can ‘talk the talk’, our effort has been fruitful.