Peterson Perspectives: Interviews on Current Issues

Companies can now "print" some products locally, obviating the need for trade. But for hearing aids, the economic shakeup has turned out different thus far. Caroline Freund and Michele Ruta (World Bank) join to discuss their new research examining the many ways the introduction of a transformative technology impacted global trade and consumer access to one important 3D-printed product.

The WTO authorizes China to retaliate against US exports. The timing bodes poorly for an Appellate Body already under stress. They discuss how the US has failed to fix its antidumping and the “single rate presumption” issue in this dispute, as well as the history of WTO challenges to US use of trade remedies. As the clock ticks toward potential end of the Appellate Body on December 11, they also speak with former WTO AB member Peter Van den Bossche (World Trade Institute) about American complaints over judicial activism, overreach, and precedent at the WTO.

Services trade gets no respect. The release of the WTO’s World Trade Report 2019 gave us a chance to fix that. Roberta Piermartini and Stela Rubinova (World Trade Organization) as well as Alan Beattie (Financial Times) join to provide insights on services trade the Report. They explain services trade’s growing importance relative to goods trade, the sectors and countries driving the increase, the various modes by which it is delivered, and why liberalization of services trade is just so hard.

Paul Blustein (Centre for International Governance Innovation) joins to discuss the contentious process of US-China negotiations in the late 1990s that ultimately resulted in China joining the World Trade Organization. Their discussion of his latest book – Schism: China, America, and the Fracturing of the Global Trading System – sets the stage for much of the subsequent challenges that continue to affect the US-China trade relationship today.

Jenny Leonard (Bloomberg News) joins to update what is known about President Trump’s October 11 announcement of a potential deal to address his ongoing trade war with China. Their wide-ranging conversation covers Beijing’s take on these developments, how this agreement compares to what was on the table in May, as well as common misconceptions about the ongoing trade conflict.

The World Trade Organization authorizes new US retaliatory tariffs on EU imports in one of its biggest and longest-running formal disputes in history. Former WTO Appellate Member Jennifer Hillman (Council on Foreign Relations) joins to explain the complexity of the case and what happens next. They discuss WTO rules on subsidies, upcoming US retaliatory tariffs on imported airplanes, billions of dollars of imported European cheeses, alcohol, and other consumer products, as well as the products the United States left off this round of retaliation.

A strengthening dollar reignites a recurring debate about how to hit back against countries that deliberately weaken the value of their currencies. Joseph Gagnon (PIIE) and Maury Obstfeld (PIIE, Berkeley) join to discuss two recent and controversial policies proposed to attack that problem. The first is retaliatory tariffs under US countervailing duty law. The second is to give the US Treasury and Federal Reserve new access to hundreds of billions of dollars to use as countervailing currency intervention.

Erin Ennis and Jake Parker (US-China Business Council) join to explain results from the USCBC’s annual survey of its members of American companies doing business in China. They describe the original purpose and nearly 20-year history of the survey, as well as the latest findings about what worries American companies in China. They also discuss how companies miscommunicate with both the US and Chinese governments, how they feel about the Section 301 investigation and the tariffs, and how they are being treated during the trade war.

Nicholas Lardy joins to provide an update on Chinese economic performance over the year since the summer 2018 outset of the trade war. They assess a number of President Trump’s recent statements by examining data on China’s economic growth, exports, unemployment, and foreign investment taking place in the Chinese economy.

Yuan Yang (Financial Times) joins to explain the allegations and complications surrounding Chinese telecom equipment maker Huawei. They discuss alleged risks to national security, IP theft, unfair trade, sanctions violations, export controls, the entity list, and more.