trade policy

Extracted Attributes

• Purpose

  To benefit the domestic market and its industries, influence prices through import/export regulation, and advance foreign policy interests.

• Spectrum

  Ranges between free trade (no restrictions) and protectionism (high restrictions to protect local producers).

• Definition

  A government's policy governing international trade, affecting the number of goods and services a country exports and imports.

• Criticisms (Trump)

  Chaotic rollout, questioned economic logic, risks triggering defaults in the corporate debt market, alienating allies, intensifying competition with China (especially in semiconductor manufacturing).

• Stated Goal (Trump)

  Promoting onshoring and a 'new Bretton Woods'-style global economic reordering.

• Key Instrument (Trump)

  Tariffs

• Economic Impact (Trump)

  Significantly increased federal budget deficits and the national debt; little evidence of significant impact on the economy or employment in the initial years; worsened income inequality; eroded country's revenue.

• Trump Administration's Approach

  Protectionism

• Primary Target of Tariffs (Trump)

  Imports from China

Timeline

• Donald Trump's campaign promise to eliminate the national debt in eight years, a promise that contrasted with his later policies. (Source: wikipedia)

  2016

• Approval of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), a key part of the Trump administration's economic policy alongside trade measures. (Source: wikipedia)

  2017

• Implementation of trade protectionism via tariffs, primarily on imports from China. (Source: wikipedia, summary)

  During Trump's first term

• Introduction of the controversial 'Liberation Day Tariff', characterized by chaotic rollout and questioned economic logic, framed as part of a global economic reordering. (Source: related_documents)

  During Trump Administration

Economic policy of the first Donald Trump administration

The economic policy of the first Trump administration was characterized by the individual and corporate tax cuts, attempts to repeal the Affordable Care Act ("Obamacare"), trade protectionism, deregulation focused on the energy and financial sectors, and responses to the COVID-19 pandemic. Over his first term, Trump reduced federal taxes and increased federal spending, both of which significantly increased federal budget deficits and the national debt. The positive economic situation he inherited from the Obama administration continued, with a labor market approaching full employment and measures of household income and wealth continuing to improve further into record territory. Trump also implemented trade protectionism via tariffs, primarily on imports from China. During Trump's first three years in office, the number of Americans without health insurance increased by 4.6 million (16%), while his tax cuts favored the top earners, and failed to deliver on its promises, worsened income inequality, and eroded the country’s revenue needed to continue investment to critical programs like social security and medicine. Trump took office for the first time at the height of the longest economic expansion in American history. The 128-month (10.7-year) economic expansion that began in June 2009 abruptly ended at a peak in February 2020, with the U.S. entering a recession due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The U.S. unemployment rate, which had hit a 50-year low (3.5%) in February 2020, hit a 90-year high (14.7%) just two months later, matching Great Depression levels. In response, Trump signed the $2 trillion Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES) on March 27, 2020 which helped maintain family incomes and savings during the crisis, but contributed to a $3.1 trillion budget deficit (14.9% GDP) for fiscal year 2020, the largest since 1945 relative to the size of the economy. Trump left office with 3 million fewer jobs in the U.S. than when he took office, making Trump the only modern U.S. president to leave office with a smaller workforce though this was, in part, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Throughout his presidency, Trump mischaracterized the economy as the best in American history. Despite saying during the 2016 campaign he would eliminate the national debt in eight years, Trump as president approved large increases in government spending, as well as the 2017 tax cut. As a result, the federal budget deficit increased by almost 50%, to nearly $1 trillion (~$1.18 trillion in 2023) in 2019. Under Trump, the U.S. national debt increased by 39%, reaching $27.75 trillion by the end of his term; the U.S. debt-to-GDP ratio also hit a post-World War II high. Analysts argued that there is little evidence that either the economy or employment was impacted in the first 2.5 years of his term despite the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) and other policies. Additionally, a review by the Tax Policy Center indicated that the TCJA had little impact on business investment.

Web Search Results

• Commercial policy - Wikipedia

  A commercial policy (also referred to as a trade policy or international trade policy) is a government's policy governing international trade. Commercial policy is an all encompassing term that is used to cover topics which involve international trade. Trade policy is often described in terms of a scale between the extremes of free trade (no restrictions on trade) on one side and protectionism (high restrictions to protect local producers) on the other. A common commercial policy can sometimes [...] ## Contents ## Theories on international trade policy Trade policy has been controversial since the days of mercantilism. Economics (or political economy) has developed in major part as an effort to make clear various effects of trade policies. See International trade theory. The hottest topic in economic policy is upgrading in Global Value Chains. ## Types and aspects of Commercial policy ### Regionalism [...] A nation's commercial policy will include and take into account the policies adopted by that nation's government while negotiating international trade. There are several factors that can affect a nation's commercial policy, all of which can affect international trade policies.

• Trade Policy: Definition, Types & Instruments | Vaia

  Let's get right into the trade policy definition. A trade policy is set in place by a government and affects the number of goods and services a country exports and imports. Policy-makers might want to employ a trade policy to benefit the domestic market and its industries. A trade policy is a government policy that affects the number of goods and services a country exports and imports. Free trade is when there are no government restrictions on trade. [...] A foreign trade policy as it relates to the international market is a trade policy that supports the global economy, not just the best interest of one. Foreign trade policies are meant to reduce barriers between trading nations, produce non-discriminatory trading practices, and make the trading process more transparent. What is the meaning of trade policy? A trade policy is a government policy that affects the number of goods and services a country exports and imports. [...] running smoothly and efficiently. Trade policies also support the domestic markets by influencing prices through the regulation of imports and exports. Trade policies that lean towards free trade are the preferred route taken by economists because they theorize that the economy will always strive toward equilibrium and efficiency. Protectionist policies are frowned upon since they disrupt what free trade is trying to achieve because they interfere with the natural flow of the global economy.

• Trade Policy: Organizations and Agreements | Macroeconomics

  In newspaper headlines, trade policy appears mostly as disputes and acrimony. Countries are almost constantly threatening to challenge the “unfair” trading practices of other nations. Cases are brought to the dispute settlement procedures of the WTO, the European Union, NAFTA, and other regional trading agreements. Politicians in national legislatures, goaded on by lobbyists, often threaten to pass bills that will “establish a fair playing field” or “prevent unfair trade”—although most such [...] In the arena of trade policy, the battle often seems to be between national laws that increase protectionism and international agreements that try to reduce protectionism, like the WTO. Why would a country pass laws or negotiate agreements to shut out certain foreign products, like sugar or textiles, while simultaneously negotiating to reduce trade barriers in general? One plausible answer is that international trade agreements offer a method for countries to restrain their own special [...] Lumen # Macroeconomics ### Module 15: Globalization and Trade ## Trade Policy: Organizations and Agreements ### Learning Objectives ## How Trade Policy Is Enacted: Globally, Regionally, and Nationally Nations participate in global and regional trade agreements. They also develop their own national trade policies. The purpose of these agreements is to define what constitutes fair trading practices in different contexts. ## The World Trade Organization

• What Is Trade Policy? | CFR Education - Council on Foreign Relations

  In addition to serving as incentives, trade policies can act as punishments. The threat or consequences of such actions can alter the behavior of other countries. Trade can be wielded as a stick in several ways. [...] Home Home ## Main navigation # What Is Trade Policy? In this free resource on trade policy, explore how countries leverage their economic power to advance their foreign policy interests. Container ships from China passing at Blankenese on the Elbe, Germany. Container ships from China pass at Blankenese on the Elbe Hamburg, Germany. Source: Photo by plus49/Construction Photography/Avalon/Getty Images. ## What is international trade? [...] The challenge for policymakers is figuring out how to wield trade in conjunction with other foreign policy tools in a way that maximizes its benefits while minimizing its potential repercussions. Now that this resource has covered the fundamentals of trade policy, put those principles into practice with CFR Education’s companion mini simulation on Trade Policy. ## Learn More Newsletter to teach today's most pressing global issues! Subscribe ## Social Footer

• Free Trade Agreements | United States Trade Representative

  Preference Programs Presidential Tariff Actions Services, Investment & Digital Trade Small Business Supply Chain Resilience Textiles & Apparel Trade & Development Trade Organizations News Press Releases Speeches and Remarks Fact Sheets Blog and Op-Eds About About USTR Leadership Organization Policy Offices [...] The United States has comprehensive free trade agreements in force with 20 countries. Australia Bahrain Canada Chile Colombia Costa Rica Dominican Republic El Salvador Guatemala Honduras Israel Jordan Korea Mexico Morocco Nicaragua Oman Panama Peru Singapore To view the main USMCA webpage, click here. The United States has an agreement focusing on free trade in critical minerals in force with: Japan Stay in the Know [...] Organization Leadership Policy Offices Advisory Committees Archives Careers Internship LEGAL USTR.gov/open Privacy & Legal Notices FOIA & Privacy Act Attorney Jobs