Currently, the global industrial chain division of labor system is facing the most severe institutional challenge since the establishment of the WTO. The reciprocal tariffs policy implemented by the United States, under the guise of trade fairness, uses unilateral coercive measures to instrumentalize and weaponize tariffs, breaking through the basic principle of non-discrimination in the multilateral trading system. It poses a great threat to the security and stability of the global industrial chain, which has the nature of a global public good.
The reciprocal tariffs policy is an attempt to reconstruct the global industrial chain through tariff leverage. This measure not only violates economic laws, but also triggers chain risks in the global industrial chain, dragging the world economy into a recession track. To maintain the global public goods nature, security, and stability of the global industrial and supply chains, it is necessary to abandon mercantilist thinking and adhere to rule-based negotiation under the framework of multilateralism, so as to achieve inclusive growth of the global economy. For example, firstly, we should strengthen service trade rules and digital trade terms in the reform of the WTO, ensuring cross-border cooperation in knowledge-intensive industries. Secondly, we should balance the distribution of benefits in goods and services trade through mechanisms such as international tax coordination and mutual recognition of intellectual property rights. Thirdly, we should adjust the protection boundaries of development rights, safeguarding the legitimate right to development of developing countries while avoiding excessive protection.
