by Dan Mitchell | Aug 6, 2019 | Blogs, Economics, Trade
In this interview with Fox Business, I make my usual points (trade barriers are misguided, China is protectionist, Trump’s not responding wisely, etc). For today’s column, though, I want to discuss who actually bears the burden of Trump’s trade taxes. All of us...
by Dan Mitchell | Jul 27, 2019 | Blogs, Trade
As I explained last year, Trump is right and wrong about China and trade. He’s correct that China doesn’t play fair, but he mistakenly fixates on the trade deficit rather than going after China’s subsidies and cronyism. And, as I note in this brief interview from...
by Dan Mitchell | Jun 3, 2019 | Blogs, Taxation, Trade
What’s worse, a politician who knowingly supports bad policy or a politician who actually thinks that bad policy is good policy? I was very critical of the Bush Administration (I’m referring to George W. Bush, but the same analysis applies to George H.W. Bush) because...
by Dan Mitchell | May 31, 2019 | Blogs, Economics, Trade
I periodically deal with people who generally sympathize with capitalism but nonetheless are supportive of protectionism. In part, they incorrectly think that a “trade deficit” is a problem that must be fixed. In other cases, they don’t understand the economic...
by Dan Mitchell | May 9, 2019 | Blogs, Trade
When I want to feel optimistic about China, I look at data from Economic Freedom of the World to confirm that there was a lot of economic liberalization (triggered in part by some civil disobedience) between 1980 and the early 2000s. Then I look at how that period of...
