On this episode of the Trade Guys, we look at ongoing challenges to the EU-U.S. trade relationship, the early data on the macroeconomic impacts of the tariffs both home and abroad, and a recent executive order zeroing out tariffs on a select range of goods deemed not available in the United States.

Trade continues to be the hottest policy topic in Washington, which is why we’re bringing back our ⁠Crash Course: Trade Policy with the Trade Guys⁠ this fall. If you missed our spring course, now is the perfect time to register. The course runs from October 8-9 at CSIS Headquarters or via Zoom. Registration is open until October 3.

In this joint episode of Pekingology and the ChinaPower Podcast, CSIS Freeman Chair Senior Fellow Henrietta Levin and co-host CSIS China Power Project Deputy Director and Fellow Brian Hart are joined by Dan Wang to discuss his new book, Breakneck: China’s Quest to Engineer the Future. The conversation unpacks China’s monumentalism in its grand engineering projects, the advantages and consequences of building at such scale, China’s push to lead in key technologies, Beijing’s social engineering efforts, and much more.

Seven countries in Latin America and the Caribbean recognize Taiwan in lieu of the People’s Republic of China, the most of any other region in the world. However, the number of formal Taiwan allies has been in steady decline, particularly since 2017 when Panama changed its diplomatic recognition from Taipei to Beijing and joined the Belt and Road Initiative. Today, Taiwan’s status among its remaining allies appears to be under increasing pressure.

In this episode, Ryan C. Berg sits down with Henry Large, a Rhodes Scholar and Doctoral candidate in Latin American Studies at the University of Oxford. Together, they discuss the history behind Panama's 2017 switch, the state of Taiwan's relationships with the region today, and why diplomatic allies matter for Taipei. They also discuss how the United States, which itself does not formally recognize Taiwan, can be a better partner in promoting ties with the region.

This week Mike speaks with Michael Schiffer, former Assistant Administrator of the USAID Bureau for Asia from 2022 to 2025. Prior to that he was Senior Advisor and Counselor to the U.S. Senate Committee of Foreign Relations. They discuss foreign aid and its role in supporting U.S. interests abroad.  

This week Mike speaks with Richard Rossow, an esteemed expert who has focused on U.S.-India Relations for over 25 years. He is currently Senior Adviser and Chair on India and Emerging Asia Economics at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. They discuss the activities of the Quad, U.S.-India relations, how India could grow its trade partnership with the United States, and more. 

This week Mike speaks with Ian Storey, Senior Fellow at the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute and Editor of the Contemporary Southeast Asia journal. His new book is Putin's Russia and Southeast Asia: The Kremlin's Pivot to Asia and the Impact of the Russia-Ukraine War and is the first single-authored book on Russia and Southeast Asia to be published since the end of the cold war. It can be found using this link.

On this episode of the Trade Guys, we walk through decisions by two federal courts blocking the Trump administration's use of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA). We then look at the president's recent threat of 50% tariffs on the EU and the "Big Beautiful" budget reconciliation bill moving through Congress. 

This week Mike speaks to Congressman Ami Bera, who represents California’s Sixth Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives. Representative Bera is a senior Democrat serving as Ranking Member of the House Foreign Affairs East Asia and Pacific Subcommittee and the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. They discuss the role of Congress in determining U.S. Indo Pacific Strategy.

On this episode, Max and Donatienne cover the first round of the Romanian presidential election, where George Simion, a hard-right candidate, soared to a first-place finish ahead of the second round on May 18. Since recording this episode on May 5th, major developments, including the resignation and Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu and rapid capital flight, have sparked a political crisis. This story is still developing.

The hosts then break down British Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s attempt to reset relations with the European Union ahead of a May 19 Brexit summit, and welcome Abe Newman, professor in the School of Foreign Service and Government Departments at Georgetown University and Director of the BMW Center for German and European Studies, for a conversation about coming collisions in transatlantic tech.

In this episode of the ChinaPower Podcast, Dr. Eric Labs and Dr. Matthew Funaiole join us to explore the widening gap in U.S.-China shipbuilding capabilities. They begin by examining the evolution in U.S.-China shipbuilding industrial capacity since World War II. Dr. Labs points out that while China’s shipbuilding industrial capacity has grown substantially due to large-scale state subsidies and government support, the U.S. has steadily fallen behind in production capacity since the 1960s with the rise of Japan and South Korea shipbuilding industries and the end of construction differential subsidies in the early 1980s. Dr. Funaiole further emphasizes that this industrial capacity disparity is particularly concerning as many foreign companies from Europe, Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan are purchasing commercial ships from Chinese shipyards, which effectively offsets Chinese naval shipbuilding production costs and facilitates technological transfer. Both guests warn that this widening shipbuilding gap could impact U.S. warfighting and logistics capacity in a prolonged conflict. Dr. Labs concludes with four policy options for the U.S.to consider, including improving labor issues and enhancing workforce attrition within the shipbuilding industry, legislation changes to allow the U.S. to purchase warships from allies, designing smaller warships, and incorporating unmanned maritime platforms in the navy. Finally, Dr. Funaiole recommends a change in policy approach that combines national security and economic outcomes that specifically target Chinese shipyards that are dual use in nature, while ensuring sustained efforts in revamping the U.S. shipbuilding industry across future administrations.

Dr. Eric Labs is the Senior Analyst for Naval Forces and Weapons at the Congressional Budget Office in Washington, D.C. He specializes in issues related to the procurement, budgeting, and sizing of the forces for the Department of the Navy.  Dr. Labs has testified before Congress numerous times and published many reports under the auspices of the Congressional Budget Office as well as articles and papers in academic journals and conferences, including the U.S. Naval Institute’s Proceedings, Sea Power magazine, the Naval War College Review, and Security Studies. He has given presentations to a variety of industry, government, and academic audiences.

Dr. Matthew P. Funaiole is vice president of the iDeas Lab, Andreas C. Dracopoulos Chair in Innovation, and senior fellow in the China Power Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). He specializes in using data-driven research to address complex policy issues, with a focus on Chinese foreign policy, dual-use technology, and maritime trade. In 2022, he launched the “Hidden Reach” initiative, which leverages open-source intelligence to uncover poorly understood sources of Chinese influence and examine how China advances its strategic interests through commercial and scientific ventures. From late 2015 through mid-2020, he was the principal researcher for the ChinaPower website. Prior to joining CSIS, Dr. Funaiole taught international relations and foreign policy analysis at the University of Saint Andrews in Scotland, where he also completed his doctoral research.