Economic nationalism extends far beyond traditional tariffs
Global economic flows beyond goods trade are massive and strategically important
Governments are implementing diverse forms of economic statecraft
Multinational companies must reorganize to adapt to the new economic reality
📖 Full Retelling
US President Donald Trump and governments worldwide are accelerating economic nationalism beyond traditional tariffs, implementing diverse forms of economic statecraft to serve national interests first, as evidenced by policies across major economies in February 2026, driven by the belief that such measures can enhance national security, satisfy voters, and promote domestic development. While recent Supreme Court limitations have constrained Trump's tariff war, which proved ineffective and unpopular with 64 percent of Americans disapproving, the broader movement of economic nationalism continues to intensify. Tariffs represent only the visible tip of a much larger iceberg, accounting for approximately $49 trillion in global goods trade, while the less visible flows of services, intellectual capital, data, and investment amount to $48 trillion annually, rising to over $60 trillion when including local sales of multinational subsidiaries. These invisible flows, though harder to quantify, often carry greater strategic importance than physical goods, with cloud hyperscalers and cross-border payment networks exerting disproportionate influence on the global economy despite their relatively modest revenue figures. The mechanisms driving this new era of economic nationalism—industrial policies, sanctions, investment controls, regulatory bias, and heightened patriotism—are far more complex and difficult to track than traditional tariffs, creating a maze of interventions that governments increasingly view as essential tools in an increasingly competitive and dangerous world.
🏷️ Themes
Economic Nationalism, Global Trade, Geopolitics, Corporate Strategy
Ideology that favors state intervention to protect the domestic economy
Economic nationalism or nationalist economics is an ideology that prioritizes state intervention in the economy, including policies like domestic control and the use of tariffs and restrictions on labor, goods, and capital movement. The core belief of economic nationalism is that the economy should ...
Trade Wars is a series of video games dating back to 1984. The video games are inspired by Hunt the Wumpus, the board game Risk, and the original space trader game Star Trader.
Spread of world views, products, ideas, capital and labor
Globalization (UK: globalisation) is the process of increasing interdependence and integration among the economies, markets, societies, and cultures of different countries worldwide. It can be attributed to a series of factors, including the reduction of barriers to international trade, the liberali...
A tariff or import tax is a duty imposed by a national government, customs territory, or supranational union on imports of goods and is paid by the importer. Exceptionally, an export tax may be levied on exports of goods or raw materials and is paid by the exporter. Besides being a source of revenue...
Economic nationalism is just getting started on x (opens in a new window) Economic nationalism is just getting started on facebook (opens in a new window) Economic nationalism is just getting started on linkedin (opens in a new window) Economic nationalism is just getting started on whatsapp (opens in a new window) Save Economic nationalism is just getting started on x (opens in a new window) Economic nationalism is just getting started on facebook (opens in a new window) Economic nationalism is just getting started on linkedin (opens in a new window) Economic nationalism is just getting started on whatsapp (opens in a new window) Save Patrick Foulis Published February 27 2026 Jump to comments section Print this page Unlock the White House Watch newsletter for free Your guide to what Trump’s second term means for Washington, business and the world The writer is an FT contributing editor, visiting scholar at the Hoover Institution and author of a forthcoming book on globalisation If you have followed the news in 2026 you might think that the global economic conflict is peaking. Last week’s Supreme Court judgment suggests that US President Donald Trump has reached the constitutional limits of his tariff war. Judged on its own terms it has been ineffective, with most duties passed through to US businesses or voters. As a result the policy is unpopular, with 64 per cent of Americans disapproving of it. Because most countries have resisted a 1930s-style retaliatory cycle, if Trump, or his successor, back off, the tariff war will quickly de-escalate. Yet when it comes to economic nationalism, you ain’t seen nothing yet. Tariffs get lots of attention, and not just because they obsess Trump. The activity affected is huge and simple to count: in 2024 global flows of imports and exports of goods were $49tn, equivalent to 45 per cent of global GDP. The mechanism of intervention is easy to understand, a tax on physical goods crossing borders. The direct costs are quantifiable. ...
