Recorded at the CEPR Paris Symposium. For two decades Maurice Obstfeld has been researching the causes and consequences of the global trade imbalances in the world economy. Now, as are seeing a retreat from globalisation, they are once again a talking point for President Trump’s trade policymakers. He talks to Tim Phillips about whether the popular narratives about their cause and effect stand up to scrutiny, and the consequences of the Trump 2.0 policy promises that those narratives have inspired.