President Trump’s decision to increase import tariffs on steel and aluminium to 25% and 10% respectively, raises a number of critical issues that are central to the global trading regime. The fundamental issue is the unilateral nature of these tariff hikes. Tariffs were raised also on two other products, namely washing machines and solar cells and modules. There are indications that this list may get longer.

Multilateralism has been the backbone of international trade relations for seven decades. We usually associate multilateralism with non-discrimination, referred to in GATT/WTO circles as the most-favoured-nation (MFN) principle. That principle has been applied pragmatically and two prominent institutionalized exceptions are permitted. One is MFN departures for regional integration agreements and the other is for special and differential treatment to support development in lower income economies.

Support for multilateral solutions to trade policy problems is high among analysts in the Asia-Pacific region. Governments too say they prefer multilateralism over unilateral policy shifts. But what are we prepared to do about it? We are taught in game theory that talk is cheap--and there has been a lot of cheap talk about supporting the WTO in recent years. Indeed, if fine words in summit communiques resolved trade disputes and negotiation impasses, commercial peace would have broken out a long time ago.

Since the early 1990s there has been a steady and continuing creation of new Regional Trading Agreements (RTAs) in the world economy. By contrast attempts to conclude the Doha Development Round of multilateral negotiations have floundered. There is a growing concern that these discriminatory RTAs may be hindering further multilateral liberalisation.

One response has been a drive to “multilateralise regionalism”. This movement began with a 2006 paper by Richard Baldwin. He proposed to extend the range of countries which may benefit from regional trade liberalisation.