The Three Big Things Trump Doesn’t Get About Trade Policy (World Politics Review)

By Kimberly Ann Elliott

Trying to follow trade policy under the Trump administration makes your head spin. One minute there are going to be big tariffs on billions of dollars in Chinese exports, and then there are not—except then maybe they will be imposed, after all. But who really knows, because a lot can happen between now and July 6, when the latest tariffs that were announced last week are set to take effect.

Just in the past month, President Donald Trump withdrew from the Iran nuclear deal and reimposed sanctions on Tehran, then undermined the enforcement of those sanctions by undercutting penalties against Chinese telecom company ZTE for having violated them. It is hard to keep up, and it is hard to find the logic behind what often looks like chaos. Starting this week, I hope to help WPR readers navigate the twists and turns of international economic policy in these odd times.

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