Donald Trump has declared himself the “tariff king.” Though Trump has backed away from some of his most extreme tariff threats, he has imposed significant tariffs on friends and foes alike.
In this episode of Chalkboard Politics, the student hosts talk to Professor Jeffry Frieden, a political scientist at Columbia University and an expert on the global economy. They start with tariff basics, and then tackle thorny questions about how the new tariff regime might affect the global economic order.
Along the way, they explore what’s different about these tariffs and tariff threats – after all, presidents from both parties have used tariffs frequently. But as Frieden explains, this time really is different in terms of the who, the how, and the why of tariffs. Trump’s tariffs on everything everywhere all at once undermine the global trading regime that the United States led for decades. It’s the end of an era, but it’s far less clear what comes next.
You can listen to the episode here, or wherever you get your podcasts. All the Chalkboard Politics episodes can be found here.
