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Public Views of Trade

9 posts

What Do Americans Think about Trade Policy?

Scott Lincicome and some Cato Institute polling experts have worked with YouGov to put together what I think is the definitive work on Americans' views of trade policy. For me, two of the most important findings are: (1) American voters think of trade as much less important than other

The U.S. “Worker-Centered Trade Policy” is helping some workers in Mexico but not in America

This Labor Day post seeks to shed light on the Biden administration’s “worker-centered” trade policy. It argues that the United States-Mexico-Canada trade agreement (USMCA) misses a critical opportunity to strengthen workers’ rights in America. The agreement’s provisions exclude protections for the most vulnerable workers in U.S. trade

“Nice” Trade Lawmaking: How Congress Talks With The USTR

Readers will likely recall the exchange between Ambassador Tai and Rep. Greg Murphy during the annual trade policy agenda hearing a few weeks back in which Rep. Murphy said he thought Ambassador Tai was "too nice" to be effective as the USTR. You remember it because it went

The Obama Administration's Attack on Appellate Body Independence Shows The Need for Reforms

By Steve Charnovitz, George Washington University Law School The Obama Administration has not yet apologized for its unilateral action in May 2016 to unseat Appellate Body Member Seung Wha Chang, a distinguished jurist from South Korea. Although this hostile act by the United States has been roundly criticized by other

Polling the TPP

The Chicago Council on Global Affairs has a new poll on Americans' views on trade issues. Their results showed a lot of support for free trade, which surprised me a bit given the current campaign rhetoric. Here's what they found on the TPP: Perhaps no other trade

The Tuna/Dolphin Appellate Body 21.5 Ruling: A decision that could threaten the integrity and efficiency of WTO dispute settlement

As Susan Esserman and I pointed out in Foreign Affairs some years back, the WTO dispute settlement system is among the most advanced adjudicative mechanisms yet devised for international law. One of its innovative features is a means by which disagreements over compliance are themselves subject to resolution by the

Trade Polling: Americans Don't Think Trade Matters Much

Based on some recent polling, neither Americans in general, nor various scholars, think the TPP or TTIP matters much, at least to them personally: and:

Trade Polling

Generally speaking, I don't think much of the polling done on trade issues. The questions are too vaguely worded to tell us much. So, I'm never sure what to make of news reports like this one: Most Americans say they support new trade deals, according to

Is Trade Skepticism on the Rise?

Perhaps, but it has a long history, as shown by this AEI paper that looks at public responses to trade-related polling over time. Here's one illustration: Do you think it should be the policy of the United States to restrict foreign imports into this country in order to