Ready Or Not – Trade Agreements!

Is the Trump administration fundamentally protectionist? Or is it using the President’s unorthodox deal-making approach to pry open foreign markets and achieve free and fair trade?

The administration clearly prefers the latter interpretation, though it has yet to get a single new trade agreement implemented. Its tweak to the Korean agreement awaits action by the Korean legislature, which has been worried about potential car tariffs. The vaunted revision to NAFTA has not yet been signed, much less passed by any of the legislatures involved.

If one cannot conclude a deal, though, the next best thing is to announce more deals. That was what the Trump administration did this week, notifying Congress of its intent to negotiate trade agreements with Japan, the European Union and the United Kingdom. Per U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, “We will continue to expand U.S. trade and investment by negotiating trade agreements …Today’s announcement is an important milestone in that process.”