Today, no government sees defending liberal trade as its first order of business. More urgent matters demand attention. But trade is no sideshow. If governments fail to shape a stronger trade system, and defend it to their voters, a reversal of globalization is possible. That could end up causing more long-term economic damage than any other consequence of the coronavirus calamity.
The world’s leaders need to understand, first, why a permanent retreat from liberal trade could indeed happen. They next need to see just how dangerous such a development would be. Then, having belatedly grasped how much is at stake, they should repair and improve the order that risks coming apart — by realigning the politics of free trade, refurbishing the global trade architecture and strengthening the domestic response to globalization and its discontents.