Abstract
International trade is a pillar of international order, and the multilateral trade system is overseen by the World Trade Organization (WTO) based in Geneva, Switzerland. Trade specializations have always shaped the ways that countries, regions, and localities are integrated into the world economy. National and urban governments, multilateral organizations, and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) all view international trade as central in the formulation of economic policies, although they take very different positions on its various aspects. Competing understandings of international trade are central to debates on globalization, world development, regional integration, and national and local policies. The rise of economic nationalism in the United States, Unites Kingdom, and other states is a new tilt that if deepened raises the specter of a postglobal trade future. However, the future of trade now lies more with cities (as opposed to states) as the central engines of economic growth. The questioning of Ricardian conceptions of international trade has been occurring on many fronts in efforts to shape future trade forms, specializations, and spatial trade patterns. The current geography of international trade is kaleidoscopic in patterning, and particularly so after the last 25 years of economic globalization, industrial restructuring, and rise of cities in international trade.