International trade is having its best performance in years as global growth enjoys its strongest synchronized upswing since 2010.
Globalization is showing signs of resilience to Trump’s America First agenda. Ford Motor Co. last month canceled plans to build the Focus in Mexico and announced it would assemble the car in China instead, underscoring the ability of multinational firms to circumvent trade threats in a world of global supply chains. The model — the first made-in-China vehicle for American buyers — may become the Asian nation’s biggest automotive export ever to the U.S.
Tesla Inc. also has its eyes on China. The maker of electric cars is close to an agreement with the city of Shanghai to make vehicles in China for the first time, Bloomberg News reported.
The better mood is a key reason central banks are adopting a more hawkish tone, or at least a more upbeat one, after years of pumping cheap money into their economies.
At the European Central Bank, policymakers have expressed confidence the global recovery is increasingly supporting trade and euro-area exports, underpinning an upswing that has so far been largely driven by domestic forces.
