Spot on! There is a large literature tracing the various supply chains and trading partners that are mostly regional for various reasons. Some are regional because of geographic proximity or cultural similarities; others are geographically distant but limited in who they interact with as a legacy of colonial relations between metropole and colonies; others are open largely to specific countries because of 45 years of World Bank and IMF pressure that has fostered interaction with EU countries or North America but not the world at large; and EU countries still trade more with EU countries than any other bloc of nations. Still, it seems that lots of people who talk about globalization don't know these facts.
Spot on! There is a large literature tracing the various supply chains and trading partners that are mostly regional for various reasons. Some are regional because of geographic proximity or cultural similarities; others are geographically distant but limited in who they interact with as a legacy of colonial relations between metropole and colonies; others are open largely to specific countries because of 45 years of World Bank and IMF pressure that has fostered interaction with EU countries or North America but not the world at large; and EU countries still trade more with EU countries than any other bloc of nations. Still, it seems that lots of people who talk about globalization don't know these facts.