Trade Talks

On the occasion of its 70th anniversary, PIIE Senior Fellow Chad P. Bown and Soumaya Keynes of The Economist focus on the origins of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, or GATT. They speak with the authors of "The Genesis of the GATT" (Cambridge University Press)--Professors Douglas Irwin, Petros Mavroidis, and Alan Sykes--about the gripping lead-up to the signing of the transformative trade agreement on October 30, 1947. The American Smoot-Hawley tariffs, British Imperial Preferences, World War II, Lend-Lease Act, John Maynard Keynes, James Meade, the Lacock Scholars, and many others all show up to ultimately shape the deal that governed the multilateral system over the next 70 years.

Soumaya Keynes of the Economist and PIIE Senior Fellow Chad P. Bown focus on the economic tension arising through the ongoing NAFTA—or North American Free Trade Agreement—talks between the United States, Canada, and Mexico. The...

Soumaya Keynes of the Economist and PIIE Senior Fellow Chad P. Bown focus on the economic tension arising through the ongoing NAFTA—or North American Free Trade Agreement—talks between the United States, Canada, and Mexico. The episode also dives into the question of how integrated the NAFTA economy is, exploring value-added in the hotly contested automobile industry. The trade geeks also provide rapid-fire answers to questions from listeners who were asked "What else do you want to know about NAFTA?"

Soumaya Keynes of The Economist and PIIE Senior Fellow Chad P. Bown discuss an ongoing trade dispute involving large civil aircraft jets, Bombardier and Boeing, as well as the governments of Canada, the United Kingdom,...

Soumaya Keynes of The Economist and PIIE Senior Fellow Chad P. Bown discuss an ongoing trade dispute involving large civil aircraft jets, Bombardier and Boeing, as well as the governments of Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The dispute involves subsidies, the Trump administration's potential imposition of tariffs, and the high-stakes politics of putting Quebec and Northern Ireland jobs at risk.

PIIE Senior Fellow Chad P. Bown and Soumaya Keynes of The Economist focus this week on the costs of increased uncertainty generated by President Trump’s threat to rip up US trade agreements as well as...

PIIE Senior Fellow Chad P. Bown and Soumaya Keynes of The Economist focus this week on the costs of increased uncertainty generated by President Trump's threat to rip up US trade agreements as well as the United Kingdom's Brexit vote to leave the European Union. Professor Nuno Limão of the University of Maryland joins to discuss his recent research on how trade agreements reduce investment uncertainty and provides insight from Portugal's 1986 entry to the European Community, China's 2001 entry to the WTO, and lessons for policymakers today.

Soumaya Keynes of The Economist and PIIE Senior Fellow Chad P. Bown discuss President Trump’s upcoming choice to grant trade protection to a sliver of the US solar manufacturing industry. The episode describes cleavages within...

Soumaya Keynes of The Economist and PIIE Senior Fellow Chad P. Bown discuss President Trump's upcoming choice to grant trade protection to a sliver of the US solar manufacturing industry. The episode describes cleavages within the solar industry, including jobs, and the rarely used US Section 201 trade law being deployed. It chronicles the long history of environmental, economic, and trade policy problems--in the United States, the European Union, and China--behind the solar panel dispute and the potential consequences if Trump imposes a new global safeguard in the form of import tariffs or quotas.

Soumaya Keynes of The Economist and PIIE Senior Fellow Chad P. Bown focus on the Trump administration’s approach to the World Trade Organization (WTO). The episode describes US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer’s recently articulated positions...

Soumaya Keynes of The Economist and PIIE Senior Fellow Chad P. Bown focus on the Trump administration's approach to the World Trade Organization (WTO). The episode describes US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer's recently articulated positions involving WTO dispute settlement rulings adverse to the United States (e.g., "zeroing"), a looming crisis in Geneva that threatens the WTO's independent Appellate Body, and the administration's approach toward "mercantilist China" inside or outside the rules-based system.

Soumaya Keynes (The Economist) and Chad Bown (PIIE) focus on the Trump administration’s risking a trade war, after the president started a Section 232 investigation into whether steel and aluminum imports are a threat to...

Soumaya Keynes (The Economist) and Chad Bown (PIIE) focus on the Trump administration's risking a trade war, after the president started a Section 232 investigation into whether steel and aluminum imports are a threat to US national security. The episode describes the controversial law that the president triggered, the international response that included threats of retaliation, and the economic problems of both the underlying Chinese overcapacity as well as the administration's potential trade policy response.

This week Chad P. Bown and Soumaya Keynes focus on the South Korea-US free trade agreement (KORUS) and President Donald Trump’s unhappiness with it, as his administration alternates between threats of withdrawal and renegotiation. The...

This week Chad P. Bown and Soumaya Keynes focus on the South Korea-US free trade agreement (KORUS) and President Donald Trump's unhappiness with it, as his administration alternates between threats of withdrawal and renegotiation. The episode chronicles the rocky negotiating history of the deal, explains the role of professional economists in advising trade policymakers, and evaluates the performance of KORUS five years after it was finally implemented.