With numerous recent crises of global scale, governments have had to act decisively to protect their own economies and populations. This has inevitably meant turning to debt to find the cash necessary to implement protective measures. But what are the consequences? And should there be a limit? As for global trade, it grew strongly in 2022; however, this belies the structural changes that have been taking place. In this edition of the Economic Brief, we will delve into these topics, notably focussing on public debt levels for the major eurozone economies and recent developments in global trade, in particular with regard to China.