Trade

Why "Progressives" Want to go Back to the 1950s

by Walter Russell Mead

Biden's developing economic and trade policies reflect a turning away from the free market "Washington Consensus" led by Democratic policymakers like Larry Summers. The political benefits of embracing protection, populism and labor seem clear, but the economic effects are uncertain. 

Do Sanctions on Russia Portend a Return to the Interwar Order of Trade Blocs?

by Carl J. Strikwerda

The economic response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine has raised the specter of a new Cold War. But a better—and scarier—analogy might be the drastic contraction of global trade and the rise of colonial and imperial trade blocs between the World Wars. 

Trump’s TikTok Deal Shows how Trade with China is Woven into the American DNA

by Sean Fraga

"Americans’ beliefs about the value of transpacific trade informed every aspect of the transcontinental railroads. This history shows how deeply trade with China is woven into the American fabric and suggests President Trump’s hostility toward China is unlikely to outlast his administration."

Enemy of All Mankind: A True Story of Piracy, Power, and History's First Global Manhunt (Review)

An attack by the pirate Henry Every on a ship owned by the Grand Mughal of India jeopardized the toehold the British East India Company had gained in India. The British government's response helped launch imperial rule. 

The Real Thucydides Trap

by Waller R. Newell

Classical histories are in vogue as explanations for the Coronavirus-fueled tensions between the United States and China. A political science scholar argues that an influential theory gets Thucydides backwards.

How Coffee Ruined a Country

by Lizabeth Cohen

Lizabeth Cohen reviews Augustine Sedgewick's book, which argues that coffee monoculture was disastrous to El Salvador.

How Coffee Became a Modern Necessity

Once used to fuel extraordinary acts of worship and creativity, coffee has become a necessity we rely on to meet the everyday demands of modern capitalism.

The Surprising History of the Wildlife Trade That May Have Sparked the Coronavirus

For the past 40 years, the Chinese government has promoted the wild animal trade as a form of rural economic development.

"Rogue" Manufacturing in China: Past and Present

by Eugenia Lean

As China’s economic power grows, global intellectual property might end up looking more and more like the Chinese tradition of shanzhai in the future.

The President Didn't Always Have Power Over Trade Deals

by William Hauk

Until the 1930s, it was Congress that set the terms of U.S. trade negotiations with other countries and raised and lowered tariffs as it saw fit, while the president did little but sign his name.

Who Will Survive the Trade War?

by Margaret O’Mara

History shows that big businesses profit most when tariffs reign. 

Trump Is Making The Same Trade Mistake That Started The Great Depression

by John Mauldin

Similar to today, the Roaring 1920s saw rapid technological change, namely automobiles and electricity.

19th-Century ‘Humiliation’ Haunts China-U.S. Trade Talks

China is resisting the Trump administration’s demand that the United States be allowed to impose tariffs if Beijing fails to keep its promises.

We Need to Re-think Our Characterization of Trump’s Trade War, and “Mercantilism” Just Doesn’t Cut It

by Randal Grant Kleiser

Characterizing Trump as a “mercantilist” misleads the public into thinking he follows a stable, precedented, and predictable ideology on trade.

Trump’s Trade Policy Threatens US Consumer as Much as China

by Paul Ropp

Trump’s China policy ignores the complete interdependence of the US and Chinese economies. 

Sure, the Economy’s Great Right Now, but that Doesn’t Mean Trump Deserves the Credit

by Robert Brent Toplin

Usually it takes four or five years for the effects of flawed policy-making to become broadly evident.

What’s More Deadly to Mexicans than the Drug War? Diabetes.

by Alyshia Gálvez

Here’s why that should concern Americans in the wake of the negotiations over the US, Mexico, Canada Trade Agreement.

Trump Falsely Claims E.U. Was Formed to ‘Take Advantage’ of U.S. on Trade

The European Union was created to end strife and promote economic prosperity — with the support, not opposition, of the United States.

Donald Trump has been wrong on trade for 30 years

by Andrew C. McKevitt

We didn't need a trade war with Japan in the 1980s. We don't need one with China today.

Historians Debate America’s Retreat to Protectionism

by Dane Kennedy

Historians, pro and con, debate the merits of Trump's protectionist agenda at a congressional briefing sponsored by the National History Center.