WEF Expects More Focus On Tariffs, Industry Policies During Trump 2.0

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 7 (Bernama) -- The World Economic Forum (WEF) expects more focus on tariffs and industry policies during the second term of Donald Trump’s presidency.

WEF president and chief executive officer Borge Brende said US-China relations will face significant challenges during the next four years of Trump’s administration. 

Both Trump and vice president-elect JD Vance will be sworn in on January 20.

"It will be interesting to see how this pans out because the two economies are integrated, but we already see that, for example, Chinese exports do not rely as much on the United States market as they used to be. 

"A few years ago, 25 per cent of the Chinese exports went to the US. Today, the numbers are 12 per cent, 13 per cent," said Brende during a virtual media briefing in conjunction with the launch of the Global Cooperation Barometer 2025 today. 

He was answering a question on the impact of Trump's second term on global cooperation, considering that the president-elect was not a big fan of multilateral institutions and agreements. 

Brende said there was friendshoring or allyshoring involved where competing companies also cooperated in some areas.

"This is what we have to get used to in the new world order. It is a competitive world order and I think the new Trump administration will underpin this," he added.

Earlier, Brende highlighted that the cost of a disintegrated world was high. 

"For example, on the trade side, if we saw a protectionist, fragmented world on the trade side, that could lead to a 7.0-8.0 per cent drop in the global gross domestic product.

"I don't think we will end there, but I am just saying that this (Global Cooperation Barometer) report shows that we will need to continue to find ways of collaboration," he added.

In the report, WEF said overall global cooperation, which trended positively for much of the last decade, has stagnated due to escalating geopolitical tensions and competition that have eroded global collective security. 

It added that the stagnation was driven by a sharp decline in the peace and security pillar of the titular barometer, an evaluation tool developed in collaboration with McKinsey & Company.

The Geneva-based organisation said levels of conflict and attendant humanitarian crises have increased in the past year to record levels, driven by crises including, but not limited to, the Middle East, Ukraine and Sudan. 

-- BERNAMA