(ii) The flow of goods, services, people and
information and knowledge
The four other flows of goods, services, people and
information and knowledge are likely to play a more
secondary role in the regulation of finance, although
important nevertheless. The free flow of goods,
a central pillar of the post-war liberalization
through successive trade rounds, still continues
within a generally low tariff arena but with a number
of critical pressure points, not least around the protection
of agricultural products and access to developing
country markets. Thus, the Doha Round may
be the last of its kind (or technically not even
achieving that). Does this mean the spirit of free
trade in goods is on the turn? Maybe not in terms
of spirit but clearly a number of new forces have
brought this about, especially the rising power of
emerging markets, led by Brazil, Russia, India and
China (BRICs), able to block the wishes of the
richer economies. In coming years, if the present
concerns prove long term and not another round of
concerns over sustainability, then food security
issues may increase all countries’ desire to protect
domestic food production, for security and not just
employment reasons. The flow of goods could also
become more restricted if environmental concerns
over ‘air miles’ and excessive CO2 transport costs
lead to shorter supply chains. Finally, of course,
classic protectionism of jobs in a period of economic
disorder (never an impossibility) remains.
Should the flow of goods start to be less free, this
would undoubtedly be a serious blow for the concept
of deregulated markets.