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MacroSnaps17 July 2026
No. 12

The world is throwing up new trade barriers faster than ever, about 3,000 a year.

New trade measures imposed worldwide each year, 2015 to 2026: restrictions (orange) against liberalising moves (slate). Restrictions have risen about fivefold since 2015 and now outnumber new openings several times over.
A decade ago the gap was far smaller. The long age of opening up trade has quietly gone into reverse.
New restrictions3,200(2026)Liberalising measures500(2026)

New trade measures imposed worldwide each year, 2015 to 2026: restrictions (orange) against liberalising moves (slate). Restrictions have risen about fivefold since 2015 and now outnumber new openings several times over.

Why this is happening
  • Governments now put national security and resilient supply chains ahead of the cheapest possible price.
  • US-China rivalry has set off a chain of tariffs, export controls and subsidy races.
  • Once one big economy protects an industry, its rivals feel they have to answer in kind.
The take

For thirty years the world tore trade barriers down; now it is building them back. Cheap goods were the dividend of globalisation, and that dividend is going into reverse.

Source: Global Trade Alert, IMF (2026)
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The underlying data

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