Donald Trump’s unexpected victory in the US presidential election contest and the stunning decision of the United Kingdom to exit from the European Union are putting supporters of globalization on the defensive.
Mr. Trump’s campaign promise to bring back jobs to the US by frowning on free trade agreements has resonated with the majority of American voters. The same sentiment was shared earlier in the UK, where the majority felt it was best for the nation to leave the European Union and chart its own economic fate.
The anti-trade sentiment is gaining popularity, especially among those who felt left out by the gains of free trade agreements and other initiatives aimed at lowering import tariffs.
International Monetary Fund managing director Christine Lagarde herself noted the shifting opinion. The IMF chief early this week called on the advocates of globalization to develop a new method to promote open markets that will help people kept out from the supposed benefits of free trade.
Lagarde still believes globalization will bring down the cost of goods and create more jobs. But Lagarde, the first woman to lead the IMF, stressed that it should assume a “different face,” one that is “not excluding people along the way.”
A new framework has to be invented, she says, and should be “proposed in a sufficiently attractive way that’s compatible with regional or bilateral agreements.”
Ordinary folk in the Philippines, too, are not exactly a fan of globalization and the gains it actually brings to the economy. Free trade arrangements have, indeed, greatly contributed to the robust growth of the Philippine economy and created many job opportunities.
But joblessness remains a problem here while the poverty incidence is still high. The traffic situation has worsened because of infrastructure lack. All these create a negative feeling that the recent economic strides have excluded a great number of the population.
Economic gains should be felt at the grassroots level. They should have an immediate spillover effect to convince people that growth in this part of the world is inclusive.