Can imposing tariffs tackle trade imbalances?

Talking international trade, Gita Gopinath has pointed out how trade barriers destabilise the global economy and have to be considered harmful especially at times of already slowing growth. She explains how times have changed in recent years, after a decades-long push by many countries to lower trade barriers. “The global trading system was moving towards much greater integration, and for the first time we saw a reversal,” Gopinath explains. “Countries stepping back, unsure about the gains from international trade. That’s a sense in which these times are quite unique.”