The latest episode of my American Institute for Economic Research podcast, Econception, looks at how trade policy actually gets made. To help understand it, I talked to Ed Gresser, who worked for the U.S. trade representative from 2015 to 2021.
The Trump administration’s China tariffs started at $50 billion and ballooned to $350 billion. Policy-makers got more than 50,000 requests for exemptions from the tariffs, which they then had to sort through and decide which were worthy. All of this happens within the executive branch, despite the Constitution’s clearly giving Congress the power to tax. There is a lot wrong with the way trade policy gets made, and Gresser and I talk about some ways it could be improved.
I also talk about whether the steel industry needs protectionism for national-security reasons. Maybe you think economists are biased, but listen to the former deputy undersecretary of defense for industrial policy instead. You might be surprised by what he had to say.
Then I look at what I call “the planner mind-set” and how it is showing up in the aftermath of the Baltimore bridge collapse. Contrary to what many people think, decentralized systems where individuals make their own plans are more resilient than centralized systems with only a few planners.
You can listen to Econception on any major podcast platform. Click here to subscribe.