The Iran war is giving rise to a centuries-old economic theory—and laying waste to the WTO-based world order

In today’s CEO Daily: Diane Brady on the rise of ‘mercantilism’ amid the Iran war.

The big leadership story: Higher minimum wages may spur robot adoption.

The markets: Mixed globally as the Iran conflict continues to rattle investors.

Plus: All the news and watercooler chat from Fortune.

Good morning. President Donald Trump’s pledge to offer insurance backstops and naval escorts for vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz highlights the critical role it plays in global energy markets, while the continued elevation in oil prices suggests energy traders are worried that such moves may not reduce the risk of attack.

The reaction of global markets also underscores how the world of trade has fundamentally changed. Only 7% of U.S. crude imports travel through the Strait of Hormuz. Europe, which shifted its energy supply after Russia invaded Ukraine, gets a little less than 10% of its gas through the passage. Almost half of China’s imports come through there, which explains why Beijing is worried though unlikely to get involved.

Most leaders came of age in a world of globalization and free trade. What we’re witnessing now is the reemergence of a term I associate with 19th-century Britain: mercantilism, a state‑driven protectionist economic system built around maximizing exports, penalizing imports, and accumulating national wealth and power.

That’s the term used by Angeliki Frangou, a........

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