Fear not, international trade watchers. Incremental increases in trade barriers are a thing of the past.

We are now entering the age of galloping global protectionism. Start the tariff increases, non-tariff barriers, in-your-face protectionism, and the WTO lawsuits that will follow. As I mentioned the other day, trade issues may not be on the minds of domestic policymakers in a lot of countries, but trade will definitely be big in 2009.

If I have the time, I have a few trade issues to deal with today. For starters, the following is from the Washington Post:

Only a few weeks after world leaders vowed at a Washington summit to reject trade protectionism and adhere to free-market principles as they combat the global financial crisis, a host of nations are already breaking that promise.

Moving to shield battered domestic manufacturers from foreign imports, Indonesia is slapping restrictions on at least 500 products this month, demanding special licenses and new fees on imports. Russia is hiking tariffs on imported cars, poultry and pork. France is launching a state fund to protect French companies from foreign takeovers. Officials in Argentina and Brazil are seeking to raise tariffs on products from imported wine and textiles to leather goods and peaches, according to the World Trade Organization.

Fun, huh? Remember also that China’s bilateral trade surplus with the U.S. reached a record high last month.

Just to cover the whole topic here, and in case anyone needs to be hit over the head with "The Big Picture," the Post reminds us that:

Though still relatively narrow in scope, the moves, observers warn, in the coming months may grow into a broader wave of protectionism. That could worsen the global financial crisis by further choking world trade, which is already facing its first decline since 1982 as the world economy sharply slows and demand dries up.

In hard times, analysts say, nations are more inclined to take steps that inhibit trade, often with dire consequences. Trade restrictions imposed by countries trying to protect domestic industries in the 1930s, for instance, escalated into a global trade war that deepened and prolonged the Great Depression.

I love the holidays. All that positive energy in the air, people smiling, etc.

Update: There is a LOT of trade-related news out there, and instead of focusing on those issues today, I got caught up with other stuff (aside from working, of course). Needless to say, the news coming out of USTR, the WTO suits from the U.S. and China, and the Obama cabinet appointments should all be discussed. Gotta find the time . . .