"Old Global Order Gone, There Will Be More Multipolarity": Rishi Sunak To NDTV On Tariffs

The old global order that people of his generation grew up with "is gone" and the focus will now be on multipolarity and domestic capabilities, former UK Prime Minister Sunak has said.

Speaking at the NDTV World Summit on Friday, Sunak also spoke about the India-UK trade deal and how China doesn't play by the same rules as others. 

In a discussion with a panel of NDTV CEO and Editor-In-Chief Rahul Kanwal, Senior Managing Editor Vishnu Som, and Managing Editor Padmaja Joshi, the former UK prime minister was asked about barriers being created in a world that was one common trading block, especially as a result of the tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump.

Sunak responded, "The old global order, or globalisation, that I grew up with, which came into place after the fall of the Berlin Wall, that is gone, and I don't think it is coming back. But a couple of themes are clear: There will be more multipolarity in the world - and India is an example of that - and I think the second is countries everywhere are focused much more on domestic capabilities."

Listing out the reasons for this, the former PM pointed to the Covid pandemic, which he termed a geopolitical event as well as a health crisis, and said every country suddenly realised "the fragility" of their supply chains. He said that as the pandemic began, the UK was short of PPE (personal protective equipment), and it got to a point where the entire country was waiting to see if a flight would land in time with enough gloves, gowns and masks for the National Health Service to keep functioning properly that week.

Because of this, he said, every country in Europe now has a cabinet committee focused on supply chains and domestic capabilities.   

"That's the first reason. The second is China, which, it is clear, does not play by the same rules that many of the rest of us were playing by. They don't view trade purely as an economic function and it has meant that countries have to think about security, IP (Intellectual Property) theft, alongside trading relationships," Sunak said. 

This was why, he pointed out, the UK and several other countries banned the use of Huawei equipment and passed new national security Acts aimed at ensuring they are more careful about who is investing in sensitive sectors of the economy. 

Trade Deal

On the much-awaited India-UK trade deal, which was finally signed in July this year, Sunak said he had worked on the agreement when he was prime minister and it was great to see the new government concluding it. But, he stressed, there was more to the agreement and a lot of it has to do with what it signifies. 

"In a world that is becoming more protectionist, countries like the UK and India signing a big, deep trade deal just sends a very positive signal to the world. And the second thing it does is tell businesses, civil society, cultural organisations and academic institutions that the relationship matters. They are getting a signal from the leaders of their countries that this relationship matters, and then they will go off and find ways to strengthen it, beyond the text of a trade deal. And that's what is so powerful about it," he explained. 

The former prime minister said the countries can cooperate a lot more on technology and security, and on semiconductors, where they can leverage UK's research strengths and India's manufacturing prowess. 

"In biotechnology, UK has strengths in in vivo gene editing and India is an agricultural powerhouse. So, if you excuse the pun, there are opportunities for cross-pollination there too," he remarked.