Threats to world trade come in many guises. The usual suspects include protectionist barriers and militant anti-globalization protests of the type that derailed the “Millennium Round” of World Trade Organization (WTO) talks in Seattle last year. Although these protests grab headlines, a new and perhaps even more insidious threat to world trade has quietly taken shape over recent years: so called “open sectoralism,” or the practice of negotiating access to foreign markets on a selective, industry-by-industry basis.
Threats to world trade come in many guises. The usual suspects include protectionist barriers and militant anti-globalization protests of the type that derailed the “Millennium Round” of World Trade Organization (WTO) talks in Seattle last year. Although these protests grab headlines, a new and perhaps even more insidious threat to world trade has quietly taken shape over recent years: so called “open sectoralism,” or the practice of negotiating access to foreign markets on a selective, industry-by-industry basis.