February 2020: U.S. trade approach leads to economic tensions domestically and globally

February 10, 2020 

U.S. trade approach leads to economic tensions domestically and globally

The school's experts examine the wide-ranging impact of the Trump administration prioritizing U.S. trade interests at the expense of other countries, including its allies.

Senior Research Professor of International Economics Anne O. Krueger wrote in Project Syndicate that the Trump administration abandoning the country’s commitment to the open multilateral trading system, “opting instead for a power-based approach to international economic relations” has strained trade relations between the U.S. and its major international partners. Read more

Director of SAIS Europe Michael G. Plummer discussed the U.S. blocking new appointments to the World Trade Organization’s (WTO’s) appeals court, effectively paralyzing the organization, telling South China Morning Post that “China will continue to try to lay claim to a leadership role” within the WTO. Read more

In a Foreign Affairs piece gauging whether the United States or China is winning the trade war, Assistant Professor of International Political Economy Ling Chen argued that the Trump administration raising tariffs on allies “hurts the U.S.’s image as a leader of the liberal order” regarding global trade.

Associate Professor of International Political Economy Matthias Matthijs explained that the tariffs between the two countries has resulted in the Chinese economy “suffering relatively more than the American economy.”

Krueger also told the outlet that the trade war has “introduced more government discretion and inefficiency in many parts of the U.S. economy.” Read more

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