Why Cars, Chips and Clothes May Survive the Assault on Globalization

Try untangling how and where cars, phones and clothes are made around the world and you quickly realize that either politicians are fooling themselves to think supply chains can be easily reinforced and realigned to suit national interests, or companies and consumers are facing much higher costs.

Economists at ING Bank looked at those three industries and concluded that while protectionism may entice some production home, it’s unlikely to deliver the resilience many firms are pursuing. Here’s a synopsis of what ING’s Raoul Leering, head of international trade analysis, senior economist Joanna Konings and economist Timme Spakman, found: