Pandemic and war rattle globalisation

Alternatives needed: A storage tank of Russian oil pipeline monopoly Transneft is shown here at the Baltic Sea port of Ust-Luga. Europe’s heavy dependence on gas supplies from Russia, now under crippling sanctions, have raised concerns. — Reuters

Paris: Globalisation, which has both fans and detractors alike, is being tested like never before after the one-two punch of Covid and war.

The pandemic had already raised questions about the world’s reliance on an economic model that has broken trade barriers, but made countries heavily reliant on each other as production was delocalised over the decades.