Judging by the reactions of economists I’m seeing I think a new definition of trade war is emerging. When trade barriers protect your job it’s trade war and when they protect my job they’re prudent restrictions.
Judging by the reactions of economists I’m seeing I think a new definition of trade war is emerging. When trade barriers protect your job it’s trade war and when they protect my job they’re prudent restrictions.
When this all settles down it will be interesting to see how big a dislocation there is. No matter the relative merits of the positions taken, the current system is out of equilibrium and adjustment will be, um, exciting.
I don’t know that there will be a dislocation. The U. S. position is about retaining its present steel and aluminum industries rather than expanding them. Steel and aluminum production have been flat here for decades. It’s a case of needing to run twice as fast to stay in the same place.