Trade Wars: First Effects

Alexander Yu. Knobel – Head of Foreign Trade Department of the Gaidar Institute; Director of Center for Foreign Trade Department of the Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration, Candidate of Economic Sciences (Moscow, Russia). E-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Nikita S. Pyzhikov – Senior Researcher of the Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration (Moscow, Russia). E-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

The trade wars that have been waged by the USA since early 2017 are an upshot of the structural problems accumulated inside the global trade and economic system. Firstly, the benefits of globalization are distributed unevenly between the developed and developing countries, and between skilled and unskilled workforces; and inequality in the developed countries is broadening. Secondly, the multilateral trade system has been functioning in accordance with the rules established by the developed countries towards the end of the 20th century, while the positions of the developing countries have significantly strengthened since then. Thirdly, the character of regional economic integration has altered: the process of expansion and increasing complexity of trade treaties has given way to active development of bilateral agreements.

The effect of the ongoing processes on Russia has so far been rather weak. However, later on is can be expected that the negative effects, in particular on Russian metallurgy, might become stronger.

Key words: trade wars, world trade and economic system, globalization, economic integration, developed countries, developing countries.