Trade Policy

Cybersecurity or Protectionism? Defusing the Most Volatile Issue in the U.S.–China Relationship

For more than a decade, the United States and China have been engaged in a low-profile trade war that has been conducted in the name of protecting critical economic and national security infrastructure from cyber malfeasance. But in a new paper, Cato scholar Daniel J. Ikenson argues that the trade restrictions and subsidies suggest that the objectives of both governments have less to do with cybersecurity than they do with industrial policy and protectionism.

It’s Time to Negotiate a New Economic Relationship with China

As China’s economic power has increased, so has criticism of its market-distorting economic practices. The U.S. government has brought international trade complaints against China and used unilateral actions and threats, but U.S. businesses are unsatisfied with the results. In a new paper, Cato scholars Simon Lester and Huan Zhu argue that an overly aggressive approach runs the risk of a serious U.S.-China trade war, and instead, the United States should initiate formal negotiations on a trade agreement with China.

Into the Abyss: Is a U.S.-China Trade War Inevitable?

Never have the U.S. and Chinese economies been more interdependent than they are today. Never has the value of the bilateral trade and investment relationship been greater. Never has the precarious state of the global economy required comity between the United States and China more than it does now. Yet, with Donald J. Trump ascending to power on a platform of nationalism and protectionism, never have the stars been so perfectly aligned for the relationship to descend into a devastating trade war.

Cato Studies

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Of Special Note

It’s Time to Negotiate a New Economic Relationship with China

It’s Time to Negotiate a New Economic Relationship with China

As China’s economic power has increased, so has criticism of its market-distorting economic practices. The U.S. government has brought international trade complaints against China and used unilateral actions and threats, but U.S. businesses are unsatisfied with the results. In a new paper, Cato scholars Simon Lester and Huan Zhu argue that an overly aggressive approach runs the risk of a serious U.S.-China trade war, and instead, the United States should initiate formal negotiations on a trade agreement with China.

Trade Politics

Withdrawing from TPP Was a Senseless Act of Wanton Destruction

Demonstrating his preference for action over reason, President Trump signed an executive order to officially withdraw the United States from the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement. On the one hand, it’s refreshing to witness the rare act of a politician fulfilling a campaign pledge. On the other hand, there is nothing else good about it.

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From the Cato Institute’s Herbert A. Stiefel Center for Trade Policy Studies, the Cato Trade Newsletter is a periodic email featuring trade policy news, commentary, and resources from a free-trade perspective.

Free Trade, Free Markets: Rating the Congress

Free Trade, Free Markets: Rating the Congress

This interactive web site allows users to examine how Congress and its individual members have voted over the years on bills and amendments affecting the freedom of Americans to trade and invest in the global economy. The web site includes votes previously examined in a series of Cato studies published from 1999 through 2005, as well as more recent votes.