A wonderful trade world

As Louis Armstrong sang, what a wonderful world! I see Trump at Davos, trade deals too; and lots of growth for me and you. We may have solar wars, and a NAFTA mess; but we have nations shaking hands, saying let’s do business. The headlines are filled with words of conflict, dispute and confrontation. For the most part, though, these are normal disagreements among nations that reflect a world that is constantly progressing to new heights of peaceful, collegial economic co-operation.

We do have North Korea and Syria. But the global level of mutually beneficial, non-belligerent engagement has surely never been greater. Multilateral trade in goods and services exceeds $20 trillion a year. Yet we are bombarded daily with stories that imply a world where regions and nations are at each others’ throats, as if war were on the table.

From Davos to Washington and Beijing to London there are rumblings of discontent and warnings of breakdowns and deterioration. Even good news is instantly converted into a troublesome development.

Following the surprise announcement this week that Canada had reached an agreement to sign on to the TransPacific Partnership (TPP), the hunt was on for the backstory that would fuel the sense of conflict and new signs of trouble. Will the TPP’s clauses on autos and other sectors undermine NAFTA negotiations? Is the United States suddenly isolated on trade? Can the benefits of selling more Canadian beef and pork in Japan offset the problems created for dairy farmers? Did Canada give in on key issues that were sent off to side agreements?

While the details of such trade agreements are important, cheese and car parts are not the stuff that leads to conflagration. We have a new trade deal that is not everybody’s idea of perfection. But no trade deal ever makes everybody happy. On balance, the TPP opens up trade in goods and services that will allow the 11 member nations — Canada, Japan,