The rewiring of globalization is under way
At the 2026 IMF and World Bank Annual Meetings in Bangkok, economic policymakers discussed trade diversification amid shifts in trading patterns. The text argues that “deglobalization” is too simplistic and that a “rewiring of globalization” better describes supply-chain reconfiguration toward resilience, noting that global trade as a share of GDP rose to more than 68 percent in 2025 from around 60 percent in recent years. It also reports that trade and foreign direct investment have fragmented along geopolitical lines, with FDI to developed countries rising 43 percent year over year in 2025 while flows to developing countries fell 2 percent.
Why it matters: The article bears on the briefing's trade diversification theme by showing that supply-chain reconfiguration and geopolitical alignment, rather than deglobalization, are reshaping trade and investment flows.