Comment on “US trade policy in the Trump administration”

Abstract

Noland (2018) has done a remarkable service, not only putting the subject matter in perspective, but also pin-pointing some of the risks and pitfalls, and what these mean for the USA and the rest of the world, notably Asia. For starters, the US policy changes will affect all its trading partners, even if these are purely domestic, given the size of the US economy and its extensive connectivity, what more if it involves trade policy. For one thing, it is most unfortunate that the policy changes are premised on flimsy grounds, and for another, it is also questionable that such policy responses represent solutions.