Experience Stern | Faculty & Research

The trade and foreign policy turbulence unleashed by the return of President Donald Trump to the White House in January 2025 has prompted a crescendo of predictions and debate about the end of globalization.

Indeed, international business has become more challenging and trade more costly amid geopolitical shifts, record-high trade policy uncertainty, and the escalation of U.S. tariffs to the highest levels since the 1930s. But a major reversal of globalization is still far from certain. Consider 15 reasons for optimism about the future of globalization:

1. Global trade growth accelerated in 2025.
Contrary to early predictions that global trade in goods would shrink in 2025, goods trade volume growth accelerated to the fastest pace since the post-Covid recovery.

Read the full Harvard Business Review article.
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Steven Altman is an Research Assistant Professor in the Department of Management and Organizations and Senior Research Scholar and Director of the DHL Initiative on Globalization at NYU Stern’s Center for the Future of Management