We found this chart to be fascinating and disturbing.

Protectionism and tariffs are clearly on the rise globally, putting at risk the 21st century consensus of the prosperity-enhancing impact of free trade. No nation benefited more from that than the U.S.A. There are almost 10 times more tariffs in place today than in 2008. Ugh. This makes everyone poorer.

Protectionism has clearly risen in the U.S. in the era of Trump (and Obama/Biden), but the chart shows an even bigger rise in trade restraints in the other G20 countries.

That’s the unlevel playing field that Trump rightly complains about. We hope he will flex America’s economic muscle to negotiate deals that lead to freer and fairer trade.