Executive Summary Introduction In a speech addressing the United Auto Workers (UAW) on November 9, 2023, President Biden accused China of being “determined to dominate the electric vehicle market by using unfair trade practices,” and promising to “not let them.” Neither the specifics of China’s “unfair trade practices” nor a strategy to combat them were explained. Biden … Continue reading
Author Archives: Nicolo Pastrone
Big Businesses Ache and Small Businesses Suffer from Digital Protectionism
Executive Summary Introduction On October 25th, 2023, the USTR announced its withdrawal of WTO e-commerce proposals introduced in 2019 by the Trump administration. The original proposals advocated for the preservation of cross-border data flows, limiting the implementation of tariffs on digital trade. Additionally, they proposed restrictions on data localization and source code transfer requirements. In … Continue reading
Trade Barriers and Tariff Schedules: How the United States Risks Chinese Dominance in the Indo-Pacific
Executive Summary Indo-Pacific Trade Agreements The Indo-Pacific’s premier trade agreement is RCEP, which includes 15 countries spread throughout Southern Asia, Eastern Asia, and Oceania. RCEP is the world’s largest trade agreement on many fronts, boasting a 28 percent share of global goods trade in 2020. Source: Congressional Research Service RCEP’s primary goal is establishing a deeper … Continue reading
Potential Impacts of Trump’s Proposed 10% Tariff on SMEs
Executive Summary Introduction If elected President in 2024, Donald Trump has vowed to continue implementing protectionist policies in The White House. When speaking to Fox News in August, Trump affirmed his desire to impose a 10% tariff on all U.S. imports. The 2022 U.S. average tariff rate was 3.4 percent, so this proposal would substantially increase the cost … Continue reading