(This post was inspired in some ways by Damon Linker's insightful writing about the current US political scene and in other ways by Edward Luce). Most of my political and economic ideas and ideals line up with the progressive movement in the Democratic Party; that's to

(This post was inspired in some ways by Damon Linker's insightful writing about the current US political scene and in other ways by Edward Luce). Most of my political and economic ideas and ideals line up with the progressive movement in the Democratic Party; that's to

(This post was inspired in some ways by Damon Linker's insightful writing about the current US political scene and in other ways by Edward Luce). Most of my political and economic ideas and ideals line up with the progressive movement in the Democratic Party; that's to

This is from a Presidential Memorandum issued by President Trump today, directing the U.S. Trade Representative to determine "whether to investigate any of China's laws, policies, practices, or actions that may be unreasonable or discriminatory and that may be harming American intellectual property rights, innovation, or

This morning, in a major address, Canada's foreign minister Chrystia Freeland laid out the government's objectives for the renegotiation of NAFTA.  This is the key passage from her speech: First, we aim to modernize NAFTA. The agreement is 23 years old. The global, North American, and

Apropos of the commencement of NAFTA renegotiation next week, I just posted on SSRN a draft paper arguing that the President lacks independent power to terminate trade agreements.  Here are the title and abstract.  Comments are most welcome. Terminating Trade Agreements: the Presidential Dormant Commerce Clause Versus a Constitutional Gloss

Once again, the international media, along with some EU officials, are presenting Greece's former chief statistician Andreas Georgiou as a martyr.  The story goes as follows:  during the crisis Mr. Georgiou was not only an honest but heroic apostle for truth in numbers, unflinching in revealing the awful

The Washington Post has a transcript of President Trump's January 27 phone call with Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto. Here are some excerpts related to trade: Trump: ... I consider you a friend and I consider Luis, the person working with you, a very smart man. To be very

Yesterday, led by Charles Schumer of New York, a group of Senate Democrats unveiled a protectionist trade platform that, as the New York Times put it, "seek[s] to outdo Trump on trade." The platform includes taking unilateral action against our trading partners "independent from...WTO constraints&