Parts of the last paragraph intrigued me in particular.
Nations that refuse to deal with regards to trade tariffs will be left in the dust under the new globalized trade system that has been emerging over the last decade. Protectionism is now viewed as archaic and non-profitable by investors, and no investors means no foreign direct investment and no FDI means no capital which results in economies falling apart (see Mexico in 1994 and Hong Kong, S. Korea and Thailand in 1997).
These countries have had to restructure their entire financial systems and are really sorry that they ignored the will of the rest of the world.
It will be many decades before Asia gets it act together enough to challenge the West for any kind of supremacy. There is currently too much corruption in their systems for them to remain efficient. Besides, they're all switching to Western-style free market systems, anyways.
They're gonna be just like us.
