How do we prepare for what’s coming ahead in international trade?

The world is a fundamentally different place from the 1990’s and 2000’s, an era of fast growth in international trade and investment. Now there is a sharper challenge to the notion that a more globalised way of doing business is necessarily a good thing. The World Trade Organization is struggling to carry out its remit. How these challenges are – or are not – resolved is an open question. John Alty and Robert Basedow write that research is never going to solve the problem on its own. Politics and diplomacy will be key.