Mark Carney, World Hero |
Photograph Source: The White House – Public Domain
I’m not in the habit of touting central bankers as heroes, but Mark Carney definitely hit a home-run in his speech at Davos. He called out Donald Trump’s derangement and outlined the basis for a new structure of international relations that does not rely on the United States to play the leading role.
To his credit, Carney did not glorify the old system, acknowledging that in the “rules-based system” led by the United States, the rules were not always followed when it benefited the United States. He didn’t get into the specifics of the violations, maybe his list wouldn’t be as extensive as some of ours, but at least he acknowledged that all were not equal under the law.
But the key point was the recognition that Trump has destroyed the era of U.S. hegemony, and the rest of the world has to adjust to that fact. Carney called on the “middle powers,” which would include Germany, France, the UK, Italy, Japan, South Korea, and Canada, to band together to craft a new system.
Carney has taken big steps in that direction with Canada. He has moved to make new trade deals with Brazil, the European Union, and even Mexico in the event that Trump decides to nix the current tripartite USMCA that is up for renewal this year.
Perhaps most importantly, Carney has moved to strengthen trade ties with China. This both opens up substantial economic benefits and shows the sort of........