•Manufacturing is found to Granger-cause globalisation.•GMM results suggest deindustrialisation has resulted in slowdown in globalisation.•Consequences of deindustrialisation may have caused anti-globalisation backlash.•Deindustrialisation may have downstream consequences for international business. Literature suggests many countries across the world are facing a growing political backlash against the consequences of deindustrialisation. Intensifying anti-globalisation sentiment associated with this backlash has important implications for international business. In the absence of empirical evidence, it is however unclear to what extent deindustrialisation has contributed to a recent slowdown in the rate of growth of globalisation. Considering the importance of this knowledge, this paper tests predictions in the literature that this slowdown has to some extent been caused by deindustrialisation (declining country shares of manufacturing’s output in gross domestic product). Granger and generalised method of moments findings suggest some support for these predictions. On the basis of the findings, it is argued that compensation should be prioritised for those that stand to lose due to deindustrialisation. Further research is also called for, to explore other ‘root’ causes of current anti-globalisation movements, and to address them, before consequences spill over into a post COVID-19 era of uncertainty for international business.