Peterson Perspectives: Interviews on Current Issues

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 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 risks of a trade war in the wake of President Trump authorizing a Section 232 investigation into whether steel and aluminum imports are a threat to US national security. The episode describes the law under which the president acted, along with the international response, including threats of retaliation.

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.

Soumaya Keynes of The Economist and PIIE Senior Fellow Chad P. Bown discuss the economics of trade policy. This week they focus on three big fights in the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) renegotiations, as President Donald Trump steers the trade relationship between the United States, Mexico, and Canada on Twitter. The first is about the ability of foreign companies to sue governments under NAFTA; the second is Trump seeking to remove constraints on imposing antidumping and countervailing duties on imports from other NAFTA countries, and finally, potential changes to the "rules of origin" that affect how much production takes place in North America.

Soumaya Keynes of The Economist and PIIE Senior Fellow Chad P. Bown discuss the issues involved in President Trump’s triggering a “Section 301” investigation of China’s unfair treatment of American intellectual property. This special episode covers two questions: What is forced technology transfer, and is it a problem? Is Trump's approach on China the right one?

Soumaya Keynes of The Economist and PIIE Senior Fellow Chad P. Bown introduce a weekly and geeky podcast on developments in international trade and policy. This week’s episode covers the hosts’ favorite trade (short) stories of the year and their very revealing answers to the question: Why trade? The podcast’s official launch on iTunes is September 1, 2017. Peterson Perspectives interviews will continue to air along with these new trade-specific episodes of Trade Talks.

Jacob Funk Kirkegaard says Prime Minister Theresa May’s offer to grant EU citizens certain rights in the United Kingdom does not go far enough.

Jacob Funk Kirkegaard says Prime Minister Theresa May’s offer to grant EU citizens certain rights in the United Kingdom does not go far enough.

Nicholas R. Lardy explains that the downgrade of China’s sovereign credit rating will have minimal economic impact.