While economists broadly agree that the benefits of cross-border trade outweigh costs in the aggregate, distributional impacts often vary widely. Our posts on international trade focus on the effects of tariffs, how globalization impacts domestic wages and employment, the role of diversified supply chains in building economic resilience, industrial policy, protectionism, and trade deficits
October 10, 2019
Costs imposed by tariffs go beyond the direct dollar-price increases on targeted goods. Evolving estimates range in value depending on what they take into account.
September 4, 2019
A discussion on why the difference between the value of goods imported and exported between one country and another should not be a central concern for trade policy.
August 5, 2019
A strong dollar makes U.S. goods more expensive in foreign markets while making it more difficult for U.S. producers to compete with cheap imports.
July 30, 2019
Is there, in fact, an association between the decline of traditional manufacturing and the rise of the populism embodied by Donald Trump?
July 11, 2019
A weaker yuan softens the impact of U.S. tariffs on Chinese exports. But economic factors in China and the U.S. contribute to the change in the exchange rate.
May 30, 2019
Jeffry Frieden, Professor of Government at Harvard University discusses his research on county-level voting patterns in the 2016 U.S. elections
May 14, 2019
U.S. consumers and the firms that make and buy goods subject to tariffs can all pay a portion of the tariff cost. Determining how much is an empirical question.
April 13, 2019
The United States has strong economic ties with Mexico and closing the border could impact trade and have ripple effects across the country.
October 8, 2018
When a country imposes import tariffs this can also make its own exports more expensive and less competitive in world markets.