As the bustle of Washington quiets down in the days leading up to Thanksgiving, I like to take time to reflect on the things I have to be thankful for in our wonky corner of the world. Back in 2017, I wrote about how I was thankful for NAFTA, which helps fill our tables this week, and throughout the year. This year, as I look back on seven years of dysfunction in U.S. trade policy, I’m thankful for the colleagues who have held firm on their principles and continued to put forward ideas that would make the international trading system more open and fair. In particular, I’m thankful for having known and worked with Bill Watson, who sadly passed away this year. He is one of the strongest examples of a thoughtful, sharp, and principled trade policy analyst, with whom I shared many insightful discussions.
As a young and enthusiastic research assistant, I would do my rounds each morning to check in with my fellows, leaning against the doorway as I would recount the after-hours news dumps to see what they thought. Bill always entertained my questions, and though the topics were often quite weighty, he found a way to bring some levity into the conversation. Though we were close in age, I saw Bill as much more mature and focused, and I admired how he wasn’t shy about sharing his views. His confidence was matched by his kindness, as Bill would regularly make time to chat with our interns and other research assistants, even if it was just to share a joke. (He would regularly play South Park’s “Blame Canada” song as I walked by his office if I was looking too serious!)
Bill’s fun side would also shine through in the titles of his blogs and papers. My favorite was Reign of Terroir: How to Resist Europe’s Efforts to Control Common Food Names as Geographical Indications. For those who know my views on the subject, you can likely only imagine the long debates this paper sparked! Another great policy brief was Antidumping Fowls Out: U.S.–South Africa Chicken Dispute Highlights the Need for Global Reform, where Bill outlined the problems posed by antidumping practices that are open to abuse. Bill’s sharp wit was also on display in his commentary—where, on the failure of getting the TPP over the finish line, he wrote that “the greatest obstacle both to completing the negotiations and to passing the deal through Congress has been the President’s fellow Democrats”—a remark that still holds true today, witnessed by the IPEF trade pillar falling apart this month.
Commenting on a debate between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton, Bill wrote that it “gave each candidate yet another opportunity to complain that we don’t make enough things in the United States,” as Clinton lambasted Trump for having his campaign apparel made abroad, while he took swipes at U.S. companies for investing in other countries. Bill concluded:
It’s easy to convince voters that U.S. manufacturing is in decline because Americans don’t make very many cheap consumer products. Instead, we manufacture chemicals, heavy machinery and complex electronics. To make those things, U.S. manufacturers rely extensively on imported materials. Because of proximity to consumers, relatively predictable regulation, strong rule of law, a steady workforce and access to imports, U.S. manufacturing output is greater today than it’s ever been.
In calling for more assembly lines and sewing tables, Trump and Clinton are both ignoring the important role globalization has played in America’s economic success. Their protectionist promises will only serve to deny Americans the full benefits of a robust and dynamic 21st century economy.
U.S. trade policy is in a state of utter disarray, and at times it seems like an impossible task to fix it. When I reflect on this year, and many past, I think of what Bill wrote here, and throughout his all-too-short career. I give thanks for having known him, and for knowing others like him, who continue to stay true to their principles and look for ways to improve the trading system even as we watch the United States slide further away from its commitment to an open, rules-based trading system that promotes equitable opportunities for people around the world.
Happy Thanksgiving.
To see more of Bill’s work at Cato, see here. For his contributions at R Street, see here. You can also read his obituary here, and support his family here.
