Bullets have been flying in world trade, but as of today there’s no sheriff in town

Sam Lowe, a trade expert at the Centre for European Reform, adds: “The U.S. is no longer the benevolent hegemon of the rules-based system, it is now actively trying to disrupt it and return to a period when all that mattered was size.”

Moreover, this could have uncomfortable implications for the UK, particularly if it leaves the EU without a trade deal at the end of 2020, as promised by the Conservative Party’s election manifesto. If the UK were to take a dispute with the EU to the WTO it has no recourse to appeal against an unfavourable panel decision.

Lowe adds: “The UK is choosing a difficult time to extricate itself from its regional trading bloc and try to seek out its own path in this global trading system, which is fraying at the edges.”