The Four Gateways of Global Trade

Global trade stretches across entire oceans and continents, but a surprising amount of it still depends on a handful of very narrow waterways. Readers of the first edition of The Western Brief might remember the term ‘chokepoint.’ It simply means a narrow route that a large amount of shipping depends on. If one becomes blocked, unsafe or difficult to use, the effects can spread far beyond that one location. In this edition, we are looking at four major chokepoints of global trade: the Strait of Hormuz, the Strait of Malacca, the Suez Canal and the Panama Canal. Each one is small on a world map, but enormously important to how goods, energy and trade move around the world.

As you read, keep an eye on the illustrations alongside each section. They’ll help you see exactly where each waterway sits and why its geography matters.