INTERNATIONAL TRADE AT THE END OF THE SECOND DECADE

The world economy and international economic relations are going through a process of fundamental changes. After the average growth in the volume of world exports and imports recovered, it slowed again and may slow further. The US economic policy under Trump’s presidency has modified their trade connections with the world, providing new challenges in international economic relations in many ways. The trade slowdown is often attributed to the US – China contradictions but this is not the only reason. The United States–China trade relations have effects not only on these countries, but on their other trading partners and the whole world trade climate. Meanwhile, using a wide range of instruments against trade partners the US president administration also faced new tariffs from them. At the same time the growth rate of trade in services is much higher than in goods, with all regions of the world registered increases in the export of services. The paper investigates main trends and challenges for the international trade at the end of the second decade; transformation of trade relations between main economic and trade centers in the world.