HKS Authors

See citation below for complete author information.

Academic Dean for Strategy and Engagement
Peter Wertheim Professor in Urban Policy

Abstract

If the era of hyperglobalization started in 1995, with the creation of the World Trade Organization (WTO), its death throes began in early 2018, when U.S. President Donald Trump raised tariffs on U.S. imports of Chinese solar panels and washing machines. Those levies were followed by tit-for-tat increases in import duties between the two countries. By the end of 2019, the world’s two largest economies were in open trade war. President Joe Biden has left Trump’s tariffs largely intact, signaling that economic antagonism toward China enjoys bipartisan support and will remain the United States’ position for the foreseeable future.

Citation

Hanson, Gordon. "Washington’s New Trade Consensus And What It Gets Wrong." Review of No Trade Is Free: Changing Course, Taking on China, and Helping America’s Workers, by Robert Lighthizer. Foreign Affairs, 103.1, January/February 2024.