Pietra Rivoli is an economist who is fascinated by global trade. [20, 29] To understand how it worked, she followed the journey of a single T-shirt back in 2005. [39] Her goal was to see the entire production process from start to finish.
She discovered that making a T-shirt was a complex process involving many countries. It started with cotton from a farm in America, then went to factories in China, and was finally sold in a store. [48] This showed a connected world, a system where countries depended on each other. [13, 23]
However, Pietra now sees that this system is changing. Governments have introduced new policies like tariffs, which are taxes on goods imported from other countries. [2, 4] These tariffs are meant to protect businesses in their own country. [6]
These new rules make trade more expensive and complicated. Pietra questions if these tariffs are a smart policy for long-term growth or just a way to pressure other countries into changing their ways. The old, connected system is facing a new challenge.