Geoeconomic Fragmentation and the Role of Non-Aligned Countries

We analyze how non-aligned countries affect welfare outcomes in scenarios of global trade fragmentation. Using a quantitative trade model covering 141 countries and 65 economic sectors, we simulate different scenarios of geoeconomic fragmentation. We find that major non-aligned countries benefit from their neutral position, with welfare gains of up to 0.7%. Their manufacturing sectors particularly benefit under incomplete fragmentation, experiencing value added gains of 2.5%, while agriculture and services face modest declines. These gains turn into significant losses if they join either the Western or Eastern trade bloc. Moreover, world welfare losses increase from -1.9% under incomplete fragmentation to -2.7% when non-aligned countries join the West and to -3.7% when they join the East. Our results highlight the strategic importance of non-aligned countries in mitigating the negative effects of global trade fragmentation.