Peterson Perspectives: Interviews on Current Issues

PIIE Senior Fellow Chad P. Bown and Soumaya Keynes of The Economist explain controversial elements of the ongoing NAFTA negotiations that relate to jobs, wages, and workers. There are tradeoffs in the new proposals for automobile rules of origin, the enforcement of labor standards given a recent US trade dispute with Guatemala, and the Trump administration’s potential new approach to investor-state dispute settlement. They also explain Trade Promotion Authority and the US congressional timeline that has negotiators scrambling to try to get a quick deal.

PIIE Senior Fellow Chad P. Bown and Soumaya Keynes of The Economist sit down with former acting deputy US Trade Representative Wendy Cutler to learn how to negotiate trade agreements. Wendy shares 25 years of experience balancing domestic politics, while driving hard bargains with Japan and South Korea over issues like auto rules of origin and cow teeth. They discuss ongoing NAFTA negotiations and the right way to do trade policy with Japan.

Soumaya Keynes of The Economist and PIIE Senior Fellow Chad P. Bown explain the Chinese economic development strategy at the core of the Trump administration’s Section 301 dispute and latest tariff threats. They discuss Beijing’s "Made in China 2025" industrial policy, how technology gets transferred, and the tradeoffs American companies face when doing business in China.

Soumaya Keynes of The Economist and PIIE Senior Fellow Chad P. Bown discuss the escalating tariff fight between President Trump and China. They update the status of Trump's "national security" tariffs on steel and aluminum as well as Beijing's retaliation over $3 billion of imports. They also analyze Trump's $50 billion Section 301 tariff proposal, China's $50 billion proposed retaliatory response, before turning to Trump's subsequent $100 billion request for more tariffs....

Soumaya Keynes of The Economist and PIIE Senior Fellow Chad P. Bown speak with Douglas Irwin (PIIE and Dartmouth College) about popular misconceptions around the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act of 1930, the Great Depression, and the global trade wars that ensued. They discuss how the gold standard, tariffs, quotas, exchange controls, imperial preferences, and bartering all fit into the dismantling of the international trading system in the 1930s. They then put President Trump’s trade policy actions to date—and the international response thus far—into perspective.

Soumaya Keynes of The Economist and PIIE Senior Fellow Chad P. Bown have a conversation with Ana Swanson from The New York Times about trade and journalism. They discuss encounters relating to steel, aluminum, softwood lumber and lobsters, as well as the surprises along the way, and how to strike a balance between data and anecdotes.

Soumaya Keynes of The Economist and PIIE Senior Fellow Chad P. Bown explain developments resulting from President Trump’s announcement of new "national security" import tariffs on steel and aluminum. They discuss those countries hit by—and those excluded from—the tariffs, the implications for the NAFTA negotiations, and the process for more countries to seek exemption. They describe the European Union’s potential response of immediate retaliation and the imposition of its own emergency tariffs on imported steel and aluminum products due to trade deflection. They also speak with Jennifer Hillman (Georgetown Law) about the potential for WTO disputes and the WTO legality of these actions.

Soumaya Keynes of The Economist and PIIE Senior Fellow Chad P. Bown have a wide-ranging conversation with Dani Rodrik (Harvard Kennedy School) about trade agreements. In Part 4 of this 4-episode conversation, they provide a "bonus" technical discussion about the state of formal economics research into the purpose of trade agreements. This includes how governments use cooperative trade deals to both stop the spread of international externalities and to tie their own hands with respect to special interests.

Soumaya Keynes of The Economist and PIIE Senior Fellow Chad P. Bown have a wide-ranging conversation with Dani Rodrik (Harvard Kennedy School) about trade agreements. In Part 3 of this 4-episode conversation, they discuss concerns with how economists have explained the costs and benefits of trade deals to the public, the role of social safety nets, and adjustment programs to address trade “shocks” such as NAFTA and China’s entry into the WTO, as well as President Trump’s approach to trade policy.

Soumaya Keynes of The Economist and PIIE Senior Fellow Chad P. Bown have a wide-ranging conversation with Dani Rodrik (Harvard Kennedy School) about trade agreements. In Part 2 of this 4-episode conversation, they discuss ways to improve such deals as well as his views on social dumping, labor differences across countries, and inserting labor standards into free trade agreements. The also talk about how enforceable labor standards fit into the original Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement as well as the talks to potentially rewrite the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).