New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman offered quixotic history which peddled the “Golden Arches theory” that no two countries hosting branches of McDonald’s would go to war with each other because of their mutually beneficial bonds of economic interdependence. Reducing barriers to trade and financial flows to a minimum and integrating China into the global … Read More

The plan to impose lower tariffs on 935 commodities “will help increase the imports of quality products,” according to a statement from the Customs Tariff Commission of the State Council on Saturday, noting that the tariff reduction aligns with the need to foster new quality productive forces through scientific and technological innovation, enhance people’s well-being, … Read More

Trade data reflects this: The gap between the goods the United States exports to and imports from China narrowed to $278 billion in 2023 from $417 billion in 2018. While that level is set to rebound this year, economists say U.S. imports of goods from China that are covered by tariffs have clearly dropped. Some … Read More

China may start selling its products to Europe at discounted rates if the US starts a trade war by imposing new tariffs, according to European Central Bank Governing Council member Klaas Knot. In such a situation, “there is a chance that the Chinese will start offering their goods in Europe at lower and lower prices,” … Read More

In a New York Times op-ed on Friday, Eswar Prasad, senior professor of trade policy and professor of economics at Cornell University, pointed out that the U.S. is strong while the rest of the world is in “a deep economic funk,” enabling it to weather a tariff war better. “No matter the virtues of these … Read More

The US Treasury Department was hacked by a Chinese state-sponsored actor through a third-party software service provider, according to a letter the agency sent to Congress on Monday. Treasury described the intrusion as a “major cybersecurity incident,” since it was attributed to a state-sponsored actor, according to the letter, which was reviewed by Bloomberg News. … Read More

The imposition of tariffs is likely to mean a stronger U.S. dollar, which will make American exports more expensive. That undercuts Mr. Trump’s goal of reducing the trade deficit, but it will also pull in more investment from the rest of the world. The Trump tariffs will certainly force other countries to be creative in … Read More

Economists Have Drawn the Wrong Lessons From the Failures of the 1930s. Tariffs are neither a panacea nor necessarily injurious. Their effectiveness, like that of any economic policy intervention, depends on the circumstances under which they are implemented. In the end, tariffs are simply one among many tools that can improve economic outcomes under some … Read More

All indications are that free trade has gone the way of the typewriter and the pay phone. What has long been a pillar of economic liberty and free-market capitalism has been degraded by protectionism, populism and isolationism. Neo-mercantilism is the flavor of the month. In order to effectively respond to tariff increases, an import company … Read More

Taxes distort economies. For example, income taxes discourage productive work; gas taxes reduce travel; and tariffs inhibit international trade. Economists often oppose individual taxes, because they imagine an ideal economy with no distortions, and see these taxes as departures from the ideal. President Trump’s proposed tariffs would introduce new market distortions, as taxes always do. … Read More