The economy can have geopolitical consequences

Economic developments can have significant geopolitical or political consequences in many areas. For example: Deindustrialisation and labour market polarisation have given rise to nationalist and populist political parties and governments; The return of regional value chains makes free trade agreements between distant regions pointless and ineffective; The transformation of the world into a service economy and the global decline in industry are increasing competition (via costs, taxes and exchange rates) to maintain industry, and is giving rise to protectionism; The weakening of the Chinese economy is weakening the Chinese government’s bargaining power , driving it to seek a compromise; the United States ’ mercantilist strategy is a step in the same direction ; The United States’ growing energy self-sufficiency should encourage it to end its involvement in the Middle East; The increasing use of natural gas, which is replacing coal, should lead to closer ties between Russia and China; The decline in "old industries", linked to fossil energies, is likely to weaken the economy and the global role of countries where these old industries have a significant weight, for example Germany.