Keyword: protectionism

This week’s IGM Economic Experts Panel statements: A) Economic damage from the virus and lockdowns will ultimately fall disproportionately hard on low- and middle-income countries. B) A temporary standstill on sovereign debt payments by low- and middle-income countries to all official and private creditors to give those countries space to cover the immediate costs of the crisis would benefit advanced economies. C) Export restrictions on food and medical supplies, and other protectionist measures, are likely to cost lives and slow economic recovery in all countries.  

This week’s IGM European Economic Experts Panel statements: A) Economic damage from the virus and lockdowns will ultimately fall disproportionately hard on low- and middle-income countries. B) A temporary standstill on sovereign debt payments by low- and middle-income countries to all official and private creditors to give those countries space to cover the immediate costs of the crisis would benefit advanced economies. C) Export restrictions on food and medical supplies, and other protectionist measures, are likely to cost lives and slow economic recovery in all countries.  

In May, the US Treasury published a report to Congress on the macroeconomic and foreign exchange policies of major trading partners of the United States. As Stanford economist and former Chicago Booth professor John Cochrane noted on his blog, this made clear reference to the possibility of currency manipulation:

China’s worldwide investments have expanded dramatically over the past decade, particular in infrastructure projects. In the European Union and elsewhere, this has raised some concerns about security and other geopolitical and economic matters. So we invited our European panel of economic experts to express their views on whether Europe’s governments should consider favoring local firms for public infrastructure projects over potentially lower-cost bidders from elsewhere in the world.

Over the course of 2018, the Trump administration imposed tariffs on approximately $283 billion of US imports, with rates ranging between 10% and 50%. In response, US trading partners, especially China, retaliated with tariffs averaging 16% on approximately $121 billion of US exports.

This week’s IGM Economic Experts Panel statement: Because global supply chains are more important now, import tariffs are likely substantially more costly than they would have been 25 years ago.

This week's IGM Economic Experts Panel statement: The European Union often uses its antitrust powers to protect EU-based firms from international competition, rather than to promote greater competition in European markets.

This week's IGM European Economic Experts Panel Statement: The European Union often uses its antitrust powers to protect EU-based firms from international competition, rather than to promote greater competition in European markets.

This week's IGM European Economic Experts Panel Statements: A) Trade with China makes most Europeans better off because, among other advantages, they can buy goods that are made or assembled more cheaply in China. B) Some Europeans who work in the production of competing goods, such as clothing and furniture, are made worse off by trade with China. C) If the EU followed the new US steel tariffs by imposing similar EU tariffs on steel from China, it would improve Europeans’ welfare.

This week's IGM Economic Experts Panel Statement: Imposing new US tariffs on steel and aluminum will improve Americans’ welfare.