Trump-Trade in Historical Perspective Three Lessons from the History of US Trade Policy

Abstract

Can history help us understand the trade agenda of US president Donald Trump? The United States were mavericks of protectionism throughout their early existence and only embraced protectionism with the Reciprocal Trade Agreements Act (RTAA) of 1934. Throughout its history, US trade policy has been shaped by three dichotomies: Between domestic and internationally orientated parts of the economy, between the two major parties and within the governing institutions. All these tensions are clearly visible in today’s administration, although the tension between the two parties seems to have been replaced by growing divisions within the parties. The thesis concludes with the observation that the Trump administration stands in a long tradition of an ambivalent American relationship with free trade, and that the events until August 2017 suggest that the economic nationalist faction in the administration is losing influence.