The US held high tariff rates from 1816 until the middle of the 20th century. The US then cut tariffs more than most countries, often unilaterally, without also requiring tariff reductions by others. Today, the US has one of the lowest tariff rates among WTO members, and by far the lowest among large importing countries. … Read More
The United States did not comply with international trade rules when it imposed rates between 30% and 44% on imports of Spanish black olives, the World Trade Organization ruled on Friday. Donald Trump’s administration argued that tariffs should be imposed on Spanish producers, and that the money was transferred directly to companies that exported. Read … Read More
A U.S. trade court has reinstated a tariff exemption on some imported solar panels, a decision that benefits domestic clean-energy developers. As a result of the court’s ruling, all of the companies that paid tariffs under the Trump era proclamation will receive refunds, according to the industry trade group Solar Energy Industries Association. Read the … Read More
Chinese solar manufacturers are surging after the U.S. rejected a request to investigate whether they were circumventing existing tariffs, a move that critics warned would drive up costs for clean power and escalate tensions with China. Read the article.
Protectionism and isolationism have been growing throughout the world, in what became known as the backlash against globalisation. Iinternational trade is not the only factor causing the upheaval. Society must manage the distributional consequences of structural change in a more inclusive way. Read the article.
So, does this deal represent a break from the Trumpian approach? The Hinrich Foundation’s Stephen Olson sees continuity. He points out that the deal gives the E.U. “3.3 million metric tons of annual duty-free entry [which] is well below the 4.8 million metric tons of steel the U.S. imported from the E.U. before the Trump … Read More
Instead of charging 25 percent tariffs on all steel imports, as Trump did, Biden’s deal includes a so-called “tariff-rate quota” that will allow 3.3 million metric tons of steel to be imported annually without tariffs. Once that threshold is met, the 25 percent tariffs will apply to subsequent imports. For reference, the U.S. imported nearly … Read More
The failure of the nation’s productive capacity to keep up with its needs was not inevitable. It was a choice. Over the last 30 years, experts and politicians in Washington from both parties helped build a global economic system that prioritized the free flow of capital over the wages of American workers, and the free … Read More
BlackRock is getting called out yet again on its love affair with all things China. And now, an ad campaign run by a group called the Consumers First Initiative is going to make that relationship even more famous. It’s running ads highlighting BlackRock’s support of the CCP.
The best way to begin rebuilding U.S. industry is not through more trade negotiations with foreign countries, but by taking direct action here at home to rebuild U.S. industries, even if some of those actions are inconsistent with legacy trade deals.
