Trade Matters

What happens when trade rules can’t keep up with the consequences of global economic integration? Jonathan Hackenbroich of the European Council on Foreign Relations explains how countries leverage economic interdependence to apply political pressure in pursuit of a range of policy goals and why the World Trade Organization was not designed to reign in this behavior. He also shares insights on the European Union’s proposed Anti-Coercion Instrument--the bloc’s unprecedented response to rising instances of economic coercion.
Opinions expressed on Trade Matters are solely those of the guest or host and not the Yeutter Institute or the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
Show Notes
Tough trade: The hidden costs of economic coercion by Jonathan Hackenbroich, Filip Medunic and Pawel Zerka, February 2022
Measured response: How to design a European instrument against economic coercion by Jonathan Hackenbroich and Pawel Zerka, June 2021
Anti-coercion instrument explainer
What Jonathan has been reading lately:
The Economic Weapon: The Rise of Sanctions as a Tool of Modern War by Nicholas Mulder (Yale University Press, 2022)

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This episode is dedicated to the trade deals you haven’t heard about. Sometimes called mini or skinny deals, over the last few decades the U.S. has made over 1,200 of these agreements. These deals cover a range of issues, vary in scope, are often not made public, and rarely go out of force. They have one thing in common: all are initiated by the Executive branch and enacted without a final “thumbs up” from Congress. Kathleen Claussen, Associate Professor at the University of Miami School of Law and former associate general counsel at USTR, is tracking down these agreements. Kathleen joins us to explain what they are and what we need to know about them.
Opinions expressed on Trade Matters are solely those of the guest or host and not the Yeutter Institute or the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
What Kathleen has been reading lately:
How responsive is Trade Adjustment Assistance? Sung Eun Kim and Krzysztof Pelc
Afronomicslaw

Trade Adjustment Assistance is set to expire July 1, with no signs to date that Congress will soon act to renew it. Grant Aldonas is back on Trade Matters with part two on “adjustment.” Aldonas discusses Trade Adjustment Assistance and the components necessary for what he would call a true adjustment assistance program, one that addresses the broader challenge confronting workers and fosters nimbler and more proactive responses to change.
Opinions expressed on Trade Matters are solely those of the guest or host and not the Yeutter Institute or the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
What Grant’s been reading lately:
Open: The Story of Human Progress by Johan Norberg
The Rise and Decline of General Laws of Capitalism by Daron Acemoglu and James A. Robinson

How do we adjust to a competitive global economy and define the challenges facing workers? Grant Aldonas, former Under Secretary of Commerce for International Trade, discusses what he calls a misdiagnosis of the problem, political constraints on changing the conversation, and the need to review domestic policies that can be obstacles to economic mobility. Part one of two on “adjustment.”
Opinions expressed on Trade Matters are solely those of the guest or host and not the Yeutter Institute or the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
Show Notes
A town renewed: Factory in tiny DeWitt, Nebraska, putting tools on the market again, Omaha World Herald, May 2021

Has the parlance of trade kept up with changes in the way trade actually happens? Dr. Phil Levy, Chief Economist at Flexport and former White House and State Department economic policy adviser, joins us to discuss this gap, why it exists, and how it relates to public expectations about what trade agreements can and should accomplish.
Opinions expressed on Trade Matters are solely those of the guest or host and not the Yeutter Institute or the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
Show Notes
Does the U.S. Need a Vigorous Industrial Policy? by Phil Levy and Christine McDaniel, Discourse Magazine, February 16, 2021