Are Trade Wars Good And Winnable?

Published March 6, 2018 at 9:00 AM CST

Wagons with steel are pictured at the Krupp Mannesmann steel factory in Duisburg, Germany, Friday, March 2, 2018. U.S. President Donald Trump risks sparking a trade war with his closest allies if he goes ahead with plans to impose steep tariffs on steel and aluminum imports, German officials and industry groups warned Friday. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)

The president goes full steam ahead on tariffs. We’ll take a look at whether trade wars are as good and winnable as he says.

This show airs Tuesday at 10 a.m. EST.

Guests:

Sarah McGregor, U.S. economics editor for Bloomberg News. ( @sarahinamerica)

Leo Gerard, international president of the United Steelworkers. ( @steelworkers)

Matthew Slaughter, dean of the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College, member of the Council of Economic Advisers in the George W. Bush administration.

Nicholas Lardy, senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics.

From The Reading List:

Bloomberg View: James Madison Would Like A Few Words On Trade Wars — “The key to understanding the founders’ struggles with trade is to realize that in the 18th century, empires worked a lot like multinational free-trade agreements do in the modern world. Different parts of the British Empire could trade freely with each other, but not with the French or Spanish empires.”

Bloomberg: Trump Trade Crackdown Shows ‘America First’ Happening At Last — “‘America First’ is finally starting to bite.

President Donald Trump’s March 1 announcement that he’ll slap stiff tariffs on imported steel and aluminum roiled markets, spurred warnings of harsh economic and political ramifications from some Republican lawmakers, and provoked threats of retaliation from allies such as the European Union.”

Trade wars are good and winnable, tweets the President of the United States. The response from the EU and China: “It’s actually a stupid process…[but we can also do stupid.” The rhetoric might be dismissive, but the possibility for retaliation is real. Which means American companies that purchase steel could suffer. But what if the President’s real end game is leverage on NAFTA negotiations… could he be onto something if he’s pushing for both free and FAIR trade.

This hour, On Point: Bluster, action, and truth about tariffs and trade wars.

— Meghna Chakrabarti