The costs, both in the short and the long terms, impinged on the world economy from increased tariffs and other barriers to trade have been extensively discussed, and the impact is already evident in international trade figures.
In fact, the WTO recently reduced projections for global trade growth for 2019 to the lowest level in three years, to a significant extent as a result of rising commercial tensions and tariffs.5 The implications for trade in intermediate goods within the framework of global value chains (GVCs) is particularly worrisome for a number of reasons:  5  World Trade Organization (2019): “Global Trade Growth Loses Momentum as Trade Tensions Persist”, Trade Statistics and Outlook, Press Release No.