The Washington Post / UNCTAD

Everyone loses in an all-out trade war, but some of the poorest countries lose the most

In an article published on April 10, The Washington Post ponders the impact that Donald Trump's policy could have on world trade.

“Everyone loses if Donald Trump shifts the focus of his trade war to the World Trade Organization. But a new analysis of global trade in more than 5'000 commodities shows some of the world’s poorest countries would suffer most,” comments Andrew Van Dam, author of this article.

For a coming paper in the Journal of Political Economy, Prof. Peri Da Silva from Kansas State University, Alessandro Nicita from the UNCTAD, and Prof. Marcelo Olarreaga, Dean of the Geneva School of Economics and Management from the University of Geneva created a detailed model of each country’s relative market power, based on the characteristics and quantities of the 5,000-plus goods they trade with more than 120 partners.

They calculated the leverage each country had over each commodity, given their partners, circumstances, and share of the market. The United States happens to have unusual market power over ceramic building bricks, chicory, and certain specialized steel products, while China could flex its muscles over certain tungsten products, silk ties, or preserved pineapple.

> To read the article of "The Washington Post", please click on the link.
> To read the article of "UNCTAD", please click on the link.