International trade order has entered into a turbulent phase, after the deepening of trade war-like situation across the globe. What looks like a chaotic inward-looking policy making on the surface, is actually a battle for trade and technology supremacy between the USA and China. The slow but gradual shift of international trade and business towards Asia and away from North Atlantic and Western Europe provides the backdrop of this conflict. The tendency of a shift from developed to developing countries has also started to appear. In that sense, the battle for supremacy was bound to happen, as China played the principal role in that shift.

In the process, the “golden era of trade” signified in the rise of WTO has been halted while multilateralism in trade is almost in a comatose state. Fast growing economies, including the emerging ones, are going to bear most of the brunt of this trade slowdown.

Two principal protagonists of this epic battle, China and the USA, are looking for alternative sources of economic prosperities in their own ways. In the absence of multilateral platform of trade, the action plan for developing nations is getting clearer by the day. These countries have to scout for trade alliances where each can benefit economically. To do so, each of these countries has to analyse its economy and then scout for trade partners accordingly. Unpreparedness to deal with this trade turmoil may result into disastrous consequences for these countries.