MANILA -- The damage to global supply chains from the festering trade war between the US and China may be "irreversible," a journalist covering the developments said Tuesday, as the world economy teetered to a recession.
US President Donald Trump on Monday warned he would slap huge new tariffs on China if his counterpart Xi Jinping doesn't show up for a planned face-to-face meeting later this month.
The tariff war has made supply chains, which took decades to build, "less efficient," said Simon Rabinovitch Asia editor for The Economist.
"Even of the tariffs are reversed, the damage itself is irreversible. This is like a massive oil tanker and since it's begun to shift direction, begun to shift course, it can't go back to the way it used to be,"
The world has experienced an "extremely long recovery" from the 2008 financial crisis and recessions usually happen in 10-year cycles, he said.
Domestically-driven economies like the Philippines and India are "a little bit sheltered" from the wrangling between Washington and Beijing, he said.