Question

International Trade and Politics are very much in the news today.

•Research current event articles on American International Trade agreements with GATT, TIP and NAFTA.

•Explain the Trump Administration’s view is on these agreements, how the view differs from the last administration, and what effect it has on current American Trade.

Answer 1

USA has been the part of different international as well as regional trade agreements such as NAFTA, WTO, TIP and others. The Trump administration has specific views about these international arrangements and these views are as follows:

1. Trump administration feels that these trade agreements do more harm than the good to the economy of the USA. So, it should be renegotiated to give the USA a better deal.

2. Trump administration prefers the USA first policy and in this light, the administration sees the USA as a country that should only gain in trade terms, rather getting a leadership position in the world economic & strategic issues.

3. The administration has a strong view that these international trade agreements have caused the outsourcing to spread, migration (legal & illegal) to increase and manufacturing & other jobs to shrink in the USA.

4. The administration wants to withdraw the USA from leadership position in international trade, if it delivers more jobs to the people of the USA and stops the MNCs going outside of the USA.

The trump administration has pursued America first policy that wants more benefits from the international trade as well as protection to the domestic trade. It is different from the last administration that focused upon export growth as well as world leadership in solving global issues. The last administration viewed that it is the moral responsibility of the USA to solve global issues and play a role of leader. While doing so, it gave concessions to economically weaker countries. But, Trump administration, has a different view. It wants to withdraw the USA from many leadership positions and focus upon the domestic economic growth to create jobs and control migration.

These views have caused the Trump administration to put import duties against the Chinese goods in recent times and faced the retaliation in the same way from the Chinese side. Besides, the administration is also paying the arm twisting role to prevent the MNCs plan to move out of the USA to countries like Mexico & Brazil. So, it is negatively affecting the international trade.