Can the World Trade Organization Act as a Bulwark Against Deglobalization?

Whether existing multilateral trade commitments really deter larger trading nations from taking steps that further weaken cross‐border commercial ties is assessed here. Evidence from salient commercial policy episodes of recent years is combined with information on the actual leeway available to G‐20 members under extant World Trade Organization rules. The upshot is a bleak assessment of the capacity of the existing multilateral trade rule book to rein in any attempt by larger trading nations to “deglobalize” the world economy.