LONDON — Japan's trade sanctions joust with China is small beer in world terms — or even in the context of the overall commerce between the two nations. But it sounds a warning bell — all the more so since it is just one of a series of challenges to free and open trade that could throw into doubt the attempt to restart the liberalization process brought to a halt by the breakdown of the Seattle conference of the World Trade Organization at the end of 1999.
Most major governments around the world express their support for free trade. Last month, U.S. President George Bush and the leaders of the European Union committed themselves to backing a new trade round when the WTO holds its summit in November.
Given the huge expansion in international commerce since 1945 and the increased prosperity that has accompanied it, this verbal support is hardly surprising. But if one stops for a moment to look at what is actually happening, the picture is a good deal more opaque.