In his inaugural speech, President Trump pledged a "revolution of common sense". However, as French Enlightenment philospher Voltaire warned, "common sense is not so common". In his recent so-called Liberation Day presentation, Mr. Trump combined a misreading of history and poor economic analysis; unveiling "reciprocal" tariffs on the nation's trading partners. The aim, we are [...]
Category: Trade
Trump 2.0 Tariffs: Everyone Loses
Until now, financial markets have adopted a complacent "wait and see" approach when considering the prospects for the Trump 2.0 trade policy. However, the hope the new Administration's bark would be worse than its bite has been dashed with the imposition of high tariffs on the nation's three largest trading partners. Markets should now contemplate [...]
Election 2024 Edition #2: International Trade
30 September 2024 In an earlier article "Election 2024: What They're Not Telling Us #1", I suggested the two Presidential candidates were engaged in a "conspiracy of silence" regarding key policy issues. Last time, I indicated American fiscal policy is on an unsustainable course, but both party leaders have evaded the topic, let alone suggested [...]
Sino-US Trade: First Step on a Long Journey
20 January 2020 A comprehensive trade agreement between the United States and China was never a realistic possibility: these take years of skillful negotiations to conclude. To be sure, the recently-signed plan has many shortcomings. Predictably, the deal fails to address many of the most contentious issues, e.g. state subsidies and cyber-security. Likewise, the dispute [...]