Between Liberalism and Protectionism: Reassessing the Dynamics of Global Trade in the WTO Era

Abstract

The question of free trade and protectionism has been central to international trade and a symptom of the long-standing problem of balancing economic performance and national sovereignty. Trade policies, influenced by a strong historical tradition, have swung between liberalism, in the classical comparative advantage conceptions, and protectionist policies, founded on mercantilist and infant industry theory. The roles of international laws, or more precisely the role of the WTO system, highlight the possibilities of a rules-based order and the persistent inequalities that the developing economies struggle to navigate through the maneuvers of the complex disputes. In the meantime, globalization and technological change create a possibility of cooperation, especially in such areas as digital trade, environmental standards, and resilience of the supply chain. In order to analyze the character of the relationship between protectionism and free trade as they coexist in contemporary discourse of equity, growth, and world governance, one should possess an excellent theoretical background. In this paper, the dynamics are analyzed with the view of offering information on more inclusive trade practices.