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
April 4, 2017
The President has yet to implement measures that importantly affect bilateral trade balances. Even if measures are implemented, impact on the overall trade deficit is unlikely to be large.
March 29, 2017
The focus on manufacturing ignores America’s significant strength in services, and the rapid expansion in services trade driven by ongoing technological change.
March 20, 2017
Proposed economic policies are likely to hurt agriculture by depressing the prices received by farmers, reducing agricultural exports, and raising production costs.
March 13, 2017
Access to foreign capital inflows allows the government, companies, and individuals to borrow at lower interest rates than would be the case if borrowing were limited to the domestic pool of savings.
January 29, 2017
A renegotiation of NAFTA towards a more protectionist stance would be very disruptive for the auto industry.
January 20, 2017
Having a trade deficit—which happens when a country imports more than it exports—does not make an economy grow more slowly.
January 20, 2017
House Republicans have proposed a major overhaul of corporate taxes designed, in part, to make "Made in America" products more competitive abroad.
January 20, 2017
The claim that the President can bring back manufacturing jobs ignores an important reality – as an industry, U.S. manufacturing is booming.