Derisky Business

Sara Schuman joins Emily to debrief on the Trump-Xi summit. She explains why it's OK to have a summit that is light on deliverables, describes how China is viewing its relative strength in the relationship, and outlines what she's looking for in the year ahead. Sara recently joined CNAS as an adjunct senior fellow, after a long career working on China trade issues for the U.S. government. She is also managing director at Beacon Global Strategies, where she leads the firm's international trade practice.

"US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer Talks China Trade," Bloomberg Talks

Earlier this week, Emily hosted Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Investment Security Chris Pilkerton for a live discussion at CNAS.

Investment security has emerged as a central pillar of U.S. national security and foreign policy, with expanding sets of U.S. and partner government policies addressing the national security implications of certain investment flows. The discussion will explore the administration’s perspectives on investment security and its ongoing efforts to both strengthen and streamline investment security programs, as well as how investment security fits into broader U.S. work to manage intensifying geopolitical competition. 

You can watch the full event here. 

Emily is joined by Rachel Ziemba, CNAS adjunct senior fellow and energy markets expert, to unpack the ongoing energy crisis resulting from the U.S.-Iran military conflict and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. They delve into why stabilizing oil prices will be easier said than done and what the current crisis has demonstrated about the effectiveness of U.S. economic pressure.

This episode was recorded on Tuesday, April 7, before a 2-week ceasefire was announced between the United States, Israel, and Iran.

A year ago, the Trump administration unveiled an ambitious plan to reset the global trading system on a day President Donald Trump dubbed “Liberation Day,” overturning decades of precedent and ushering in a new era of a far more assertive U.S. trade policy. While the long-term effects of the administration’s trade strategy remain uncertain, one year of the new trade approach has fundamentally shifted how America talks about the legal, economic, and political dynamics of trade.

Watch the event and find the fun graphs from Pew Research here.

USTR, Liberation Day One Year Later: Protecting American Jobs and Delivering Greater Market Access for American Farmers, Ranchers, and Manufacturers

Pew Research, How Americans View Trump’s Handling of Trade and Tariffs

María Pagán joins Emily and Geoff for a wide-ranging discussion on the past, present, and future of U.S. trade law and policy. They assess what’s working (and what’s not) at the WTO, the path forward for the Trump administration’s tariff strategy, and what to expect at this week’s WTO ministerial conference.

Paul Scharre joins Emily and Geoff to talk about how commercial markets for AI might evolve and how different market outcomes may mean different types of risks for U.S. national security interests. They also get into the ongoing dispute between the Pentagon and Anthropic over who gets to decide how AI is used in the military.

Paul Scharre is an expert on military AI, Executive Vice President at CNAS, and the author of "Four Battlegrounds: Power in the Age of Artificial Intelligence." Previously, he served at the Pentagon, where he played a leading role in establishing policies on unmanned and autonomous systems and emerging weapons technologies.

In a blow to the Trump administration's trade policy, the Supreme Court ruled that the president cannot use the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) as a legal basis to impose tariffs. The Trump administration has relied on IEEPA tariffs as a tool of both economic and diplomatic coercion, seeking to reshape the global trading system and generate revenue for the United States.

The full implications of today's ruling remain unclear, with significant questions outstanding on what new tariffs the administration might introduce to replace IEEPA tariffs, how and whether tariff refunds will be issued, and what will happen to the trade deals signed with foreign governments in recent months.

In a live discussion, Geoff was joined by Carrie Cordero, director of the CNAS National Security Law Program, and Chris Kennedy, CNAS adjunct senior fellow and senior economist with Bloomberg Economics' Geoeconomics practice, to discuss the ruling.

This week, we're bringing you an episode from our friends at CSIS's Asia Chessboard Podcast, where Emily joins host Mike Green to unpack how U.S. national security strategy is shaping technology competition with China. They explore why Washington has rolled back certain tariffs and technology export restrictions, how allies and partners are responding to shifting U.S. trade policies, and whether the United States is still on track to win the U.S.-China tech race.

Find more episodes from the Asia Chessboard here. 

Geoff sits down with Mark DiPlacido of American Compass to discuss his recent series of essays, On Balance, that advocates U.S. trade policy should move away from the previous free trade paradigm and instead prioritize balance and reciprocity. They consider the extent to which the Trump administration’s trade policy is aligned with this framework and discuss what to watch for on the big trade stories of 2026, and later delve into what role think tanks play in the current policy environment.

Mark DiPlacido, “On Balance,” American Compass

Geoff sits down with Chris Kennedy to unpack the Trump administration’s National Security Strategy and debate what it will take for the United States to overcome its dependency on Chinese rare earths. Chris is a Senior Economist with Bloomberg Economics’ Geoeconomics practice and a new Adjunct Senior Fellow with the Energy, Economics and Security Program.