| Have you ever realised that man remains generous | | | | already committed the crime as World Bank and |
| and accommodating to his fellow beings only till the | | | | WTO reports suggest? Good intentions alone cannot |
| time he himself is well-heeled? Basically affluence is | | | | help nations to work against trade barriers. Local |
| the breeding ground for magnanimity and | | | | politics and question of survival of politicians will push |
| philanthropy. And since nations are guided by men, | | | | nations towards trade conflicts. Once trade barriers |
| you can expect similar behaviour from all nations. But | | | | are in place we shall see replay of scenes from Great |
| what happens when nations themselves are ravaged | | | | Depression of 1930's. It is commonly believed that |
| by depredations of recession and economic collapse? | | | | passage of Smoot-Hawley Tariff in the USA brought |
| In order to seek answer to this question we need to | | | | the global economy down then. Will it be different |
| logically predict the turn of events from the | | | | this time around? I wonder. |
| symptoms as visible today. | | | | If trade war rages on a global scale, world trade will |
| The first thing that this truly global recession will bring | | | | come to a grinding halt. In fact now itself, without |
| about is trade wars. It still hasn't started in full scale | | | | any significant trade conflict, global demand has |
| but the writing is on the wall. World Bank has | | | | collapsed. WTO has forecast that global trade, as |
| recently announced that 17 countries from G20 have | | | | measured by volume, will decline by 9% this year. |
| already taken some protectionist measures against | | | | Such a devastating fall has not been seen in the last |
| foreign competition to survive the recession. World | | | | 60 years. And this decline is not attributed to trade |
| Trade Organisation report has confirmed last week | | | | conflicts. Just imagine what will happen to global trade |
| that there has been significant slippage towards | | | | once trade wars are declared by nations!!! |
| protectionism from richest countries. | | | | Time is running out for world leaders who wish to |
| As the global economic crisis deepens, the shadow of | | | | avoid global catastrophe. Leaders of G20 nations |
| trade war will lengthen. No wonder trade was one of | | | | have to use innovative ideas to avoid trade wars, |
| the main topics at the G20 Meet on 02 Apr 2009 in | | | | and they must be utterly sincere in implementation |
| London. G20 Meets issue out strong statements | | | | and enforcement of the same. Like it or not, brutal |
| against protectionism from time to time, but will the | | | | truth is that today the world depends on leaders of |
| G20 nations themselves abide by the rule book of | | | | G20 nations to steer it away from Global Depression. |
| WTO in their own countries? Haven't most of them | | | | |