World trade had recovered from the disaster of 2008–2009. But since 2010 trade volumes had stagnated. In 2015 they had declined.120 This was driven in part by the business cycle. The taper tantrum and the setback to commodity prices had rocked the emerging markets. But it also reflected a wave of protectionist measures adopted by countries across the world, concentrated not on tariffs but on a variety of nontariff barriers.
