"The rules-based order that had guided much of the world since World War II has broken down," wrote N Ramachandran. A global trade war seems a possibility as "The list of products that are now subject to retaliatory tariffs reads like that of a children's game of tit for tat". This reaction is probably predictable because, "Multinational corporations and investors have increasingly shaped the agenda of international trade negotiations, resulting in global regimes that disproportionately benefit capital at the expense of labour," wrote Prof D Rodrik. Political populism is always bad but, "Economic populism, by contrast, is occasionally necessary." Diplomacy is very confusing. After the acrimonious G7 meeting which ended in Donald Trump refusing to sign a joint communique there was the historic summit between Trump and Kim Jong Un in Singapore. "Sceptics have long argued that the rules that have prevailed for seven decades were established by the US and its allies, and have, in a clever way, been 'imposed' on all other countries through a framework of post-war institutions, and have generally been framed to benefit the educated elite." The US became dominant economic power after the Bretton Woods agreement which made the US dollar the reserve currency of the world and set up the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. But, Malaysia famously ignored IMF advice during the East Asian crisis of 1997 and instituted currency control instead of austerity which turned its economy from recession to growth in a much shorter time. Immigration has become a huge issue in both Europe and the US. The new government in Italy has been turning away migrant ships unless the ships are registered in Italy. Malta has been doing the same. An angry war of words has broken out between Italy and France with Italy's Deputy Prime Minister Luigi Di Maio saying that President Macron of France is out of touch with reality. "Macron risks making his country Italy's No 1 enemy on this emergency," he said. In recent days children of illegal immigrants have been separated from their parents in US border camps. Liberals are enraged at Donald Trump, with Time printing a photograph of a crying little girl looking up at a stern Trump, which turned out to be fake. Strangely, no one is blaming the governments of the home countries of these immigrants which do not provide for their people because of corruption and incompetence so that they are forced to make such hazardous journeys. There are thousands of Indians staying illegally in the US. They spend hundreds of thousands of rupees and are taken through several countries by people smugglers. "Indian diaspora remittance remains the magic glue keeping our balance of payments in order." Not much better than begging, is it?
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