Asian countries are increasingly concerned that popular anger in the U.S. and Europe might hurt their exports and lead to a global economic slowdown. Voters in industrialized countries are frustrated with job losses in industries such as steel and automobile manufacturing. Many blame the losses on globalization and free trade policies. These were reportedly major issues in the British vote to leave the European Union. They also have been energetically discussed in the U.S. presidential election. Some experts are calling these concerns protectionism, or seeking to protect or block off a country’s market from foreign businesses. Frederic Neumann co-directs Asian economics research for HSBC Bank in Hong Kong. He said, “Rising protectionism could throw sand in the wheels of the global trading system and so start to gum it up.” The vote in Britain resulted in wild changes in financial markets around the world. Major East Asian countries were no exception.
