Food security fears and protectionist subsidies could make economies less efficient for everyone

Following a week filled with threats and counter-threats, there are ominous signs that a long era of free trade may be coming to an abrupt end.

In a transition that would have seemed astonishing only a few years ago, national strategies based on the advantages of open borders are being replaced by tactics not seen for decades.

Suddenly, countries are looking inward instead of outward. And it's contagious.

Rather than seeking global or regional efficiency, countries such as Canada are imposing protectionist measures to save their own domestic industries from the damaging effects of foreign protectionism, particularly from the Trump administration in the U.S...

This was excerpted from the 3 July 2018 edition of CBC News.