What America’s protectionist turn means for the world

Step for a moment into the ancient past. The year is 2016. Michael Froman, the United States Trade Representative, is making a stirring call to arms. American workers and businesses are competing against firms that get subsidies and other favours from their governments. “The question”, he says, “is what do we do about it? Do we accept this status quo, or do we actively work to change it?” Mr Froman’s choice, in line with decades of his country’s trade policies, is the latter: try to tear down the subsidies hurting American exporters and gumming up global trade.