TRADE. Leaders on war footing.

Byline: Sharda Naidoo

TRADE Leaders on war footing Global business and political bigwigs left the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, this week with the chilling feeling of trade wars looming. The initial global response to the financial crisis of 2007/2008 staved off a wave of protectionism. But with the Doha round of trade talks still uncertain, there are fears that tensions over currencies and persistent trade disputes especially between China and the US, EU and Japan could spill over into protectionism and an outright trade war.

The threat of a trade war is real, says Peter Draper of the SA Institute of International Affairs. For decades open markets and …