U.S. Trade Policy Is Ready for Its Biden Makeover
Stopping the tariff-war madness with allies is something the new president could do right away with executive powers.
Tariffs on manufacturing goods such as this German steel could be eased with U.S. allies.
Photographer: Maja Hitij/Getty Images
If he winds up facing a hostile Senate, President-elect Joe Biden will struggle to make sweeping policy changes. But for better or worse, executive power has expanded to the point where Biden will be able to make progress on a number of fronts without the say-so of the Republican opposition. One such area of opportunity is trade. Biden will have the power to reverse many of the Donald Trump administration’s bad policies to strengthen trade with allies and potential allies, while keeping up the technological competition with China.
The first order of business is to remove all tariffs on developed countries such as Canada and Japan, as well as in Europe. Currently, Trump’s tariffs on these nations are sparking a dangerous and completely counterproductive tit-for-tat: