Great article in today’s Washington Post about the new toxic global trade environment concerning political risks — involving national security, balance of power, domestic policies. Here are a few quotes.

• Investors and companies are facing the most complex global landscape in decades, as political conditions once regarded as enduring give way to profound and unpredictable change.

• To varying degrees, governments in the United States, Europe and China are all now emphasizing a greater economic role for the state. That means encouraging — and discouraging — specific commercial activities.

• We’re in a very difficult environment for multinational corporations, and look, I think we’re in a very difficult environment for companies that are based outside the United States to invest in the United States. The United States is also thinking of putting more restrictions on.

• The speed and scope of change is exceptional. Events that one could imagine that  they will never happen, they are happening one after the other.

 “Global Investors and Mounting Political Risks.” Washington Post (April 7, 2023).