The Deglobalization Question

Recent crises have sparked serious debate about whether globalization has peaked. The pandemic exposed supply chain vulnerabilities. Geopolitical tensions between the US and China threaten to split the world into competing economic blocs.

Some reshoring is already underway. Semiconductor plants are being built in America and Europe specifically to reduce dependence on Asian production. Companies are diversifying supply chains for resilience rather than optimizing purely for cost.

But full deglobalization seems unlikely. The efficiency gains from global trade are simply too large to abandon voluntarily. More probable is a selective decoupling — critical industries brought closer to home while everyday goods continue flowing across borders.