Peterson Perspectives: Interviews on Current Issues

Soumaya Keynes of The Economist and PIIE Senior Fellow Chad P. Bown explain recent developments in the UK-EU trade talks on Britain’s departure from the European Union. At the two-year mark after the June 23, 2016 Leave referendum, they speak to Anand Menon (King’s College London) and Allie Renison (Institute of Directors) about progress in agreeing to a trade deal, outstanding issues, and lingering uncertainty facing UK businesses.

Soumaya Keynes of The Economist and PIIE Senior Fellow Chad P. Bown explain some implications of President Trump’s plan to impose tariffs on US imports from China starting July 6, 2018, which could escalate to cover $450 billion of American imports. They speak to Mary E. Lovely (PIIE) and Simon Rabinovitch (The Economist) about which companies will be affected and how China might retaliate beyond tit-for-tat tariffs.

Bown and Keynes explain the nonreciprocal pattern of tariffs—and nontariff barriers—across countries highlighted by President Trump’s tweets and statements about high levels of tariff protection received by Canadian dairy farmers, automakers in Europe and China, and more.

Chad P. Bown (PIIE) and Soumaya Keynes (The Economist) update developments in the Trump administration’s on-again, off-again trade war, and trade negotiations with China. They also speak to a number of people in Beijing to better understand the Chinese views.

Chad P. Bown (PIIE) and Soumaya Keynes (The Economist) explain the economic implications of President Trump’s decision to apply steel and aluminum trade restrictions on virtually all US trading partners as of June 1, 2018. Countries have announced their plans to retaliate against billions of dollars of US exports, to file WTO trade disputes, and to potentially impose restrictions on their own imports of steel and aluminum.

Soumaya Keynes of The Economist and PIIE Senior Fellow Chad P. Bown talk with Kristin Dziczek (Center for Automotive Research) about President Trump’s new investigation into whether imports of autos threaten American national security. They discuss the implications of potential new tariffs for the NAFTA negotiations, as well as trade relations with the European Union and China.

Soumaya Keynes and Chad P. Bown discuss with Yuan Yang of the Financial Times how the US Commerce Department decision to sanction Chinese telecommunications giant ZTE—and its potential reversal by President Trump—affects the firm’s supply chain and Chinese and American jobs. They also discuss its impact on US-China trade negotiations and Beijing’s “Made in China 2025” industrial policy.

Soumaya Keynes of The Economist and PIIE Senior Fellow Chad P. Bown talk with Professor Claudia Steinwender (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) about her research on the impact of the trans-Atlantic telegraph on trade. New information through the telegraph affected 1860s cotton price differences between New York and Liverpool, export volumes, and volatility. Claudia then describes how the telegraph affected trade differently at distinct points of the cotton textile supply chain, providing lessons and insight into today’s information and communications technology (ICT) revolution and use of big data.

Soumaya Keynes of The Economist and PIIE Senior Fellow Chad P. Bown discuss with Dave Donaldson (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) his research on how massive railroad projects—across America in the late 1800s and colonial India in the early 1900s—affected trade costs, market access, intranational trade, and economic development. Professor Donaldson received the Johns Bates Clark Medal in 2017.

PIIE Senior Fellow Chad P. Bown and Soumaya Keynes of The Economist explain controversial elements of the ongoing NAFTA negotiations that relate to jobs, wages, and workers. There are tradeoffs in the new proposals for automobile rules of origin, the enforcement of labor standards given a recent US trade dispute with Guatemala, and the Trump administration’s potential new approach to investor-state dispute settlement. They also explain Trade Promotion Authority and the US congressional timeline that has negotiators scrambling to try to get a quick deal.

PIIE Senior Fellow Chad P. Bown and Soumaya Keynes of The Economist sit down with former acting deputy US Trade Representative Wendy Cutler to learn how to negotiate trade agreements. Wendy shares 25 years of experience balancing domestic politics, while driving hard bargains with Japan and South Korea over issues like auto rules of origin and cow teeth. They discuss ongoing NAFTA negotiations and the right way to do trade policy with Japan.

Soumaya Keynes of The Economist and PIIE Senior Fellow Chad P. Bown explain the Chinese economic development strategy at the core of the Trump administration’s Section 301 dispute and latest tariff threats. They discuss Beijing’s "Made in China 2025" industrial policy, how technology gets transferred, and the tradeoffs American companies face when doing business in China.

Soumaya Keynes of The Economist and PIIE Senior Fellow Chad P. Bown discuss the escalating tariff fight between President Trump and China. They update the status of Trump's "national security" tariffs on steel and aluminum as well as Beijing's retaliation over $3 billion of imports. They also analyze Trump's $50 billion Section 301 tariff proposal, China's $50 billion proposed retaliatory response, before turning to Trump's subsequent $100 billion request for more tariffs....

Soumaya Keynes of The Economist and PIIE Senior Fellow Chad P. Bown speak with Douglas Irwin (PIIE and Dartmouth College) about popular misconceptions around the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act of 1930, the Great Depression, and the global trade wars that ensued. They discuss how the gold standard, tariffs, quotas, exchange controls, imperial preferences, and bartering all fit into the dismantling of the international trading system in the 1930s. They then put President Trump’s trade policy actions to date—and the international response thus far—into perspective.

Soumaya Keynes of The Economist and PIIE Senior Fellow Chad P. Bown have a conversation with Ana Swanson from The New York Times about trade and journalism. They discuss encounters relating to steel, aluminum, softwood lumber and lobsters, as well as the surprises along the way, and how to strike a balance between data and anecdotes.