Trade Talks
Chad P. Bown from the Peterson Institute for International Economics hosts a podcast about the economics of international trade and policy. The show covers trade wars, trade deals, and other trade developments with insights and economic analysis. It is aimed at listeners interested in understanding the complexities of global trade.
Episodes
216. How to Win a Trade War, with friends
In a trade podcast mashup, Bill Reinsch and Scott Miller (The Trade Guys) join Trade Talks to interview Soumaya and Chad about the Keynes & Bown new book, How to Win a Trade War (32:07).
215. How China's trade is holding back developing countries
Arvind Subramanian (PIIE) explains how poorer countries are being squeezed by China's failure to grow out of many industries important to their economic development (27:44).
214. Europe's trade war with China
Finbarr Bermingham (South China Morning Post) joins to explain how the European Union is using tariffs, cybersecurity, product bans, and industrial policy in its own trade war with China, as well as how China is not backing down (45:04).
213. Ups and downs at the Port of Los Angeles
Chad visits the Port of Los Angeles, the largest container port in North America, and speaks with its Executive Director, Gene Seroka, for an update on US trade with China, as well as the impact on the Port of the recent tariffs, the war in Iran, automation, and AI (35.54).
212. America's semiconductor policy and the AI race with China
Former CHIPS program chief economist Dan Kim (TechInsights) joins for a wide-ranging conversation about artificial intelligence and US semiconductors policy – including the CHIPS Act subsidies, tariffs, and export controls – as well as its impact on US-China technology competition (56:47).
211. How one small American manufacturer is dealing with Trump's tariffs
Sam Cooper, the owner of Klear Vu, a company that makes seat cushions in Massachusetts and imports fabric from China, joins for a candid explanation about the impact of the US tariffs in 2025 on the company's supply chain, pricing, and other decisions (34:19).
210. What is America's problem with the WTO?
Former US ambassador to the World Trade Organization (WTO) Maria Pagán joins for a wide-ranging conversation about US government concerns with the WTO, the Trump administration's actions so far, and the failures of the recent ministerial conference in Cameroon (33:00).
209. Will Trump's pharmaceutical tariffs lower prices and secure supply chains?
Thomas J. Bollyky (Council on Foreign Relations) joins to explain the problems facing the US pharmaceutical market, the Trump administration's new tariffs and pricing deal with the United Kingdom, and the impact on American drug prices as well as supply chain security (30:10).
208. It's been one year since Trump's "Liberation Day" tariffs
Aime Williams (Financial Times) joins Chad Bown to help explain what has happened since President Trump's sweeping April 2, 2025 tariff announcement. They discuss the surprises in the US import and export data from 2025, trading partner retaliation, the deals, and what comes next after the Supreme Court's February 2026 decision (22:01).
207. What happened on Trump's tariff day
Soumaya Keynes (Financial Times) joins to cohost an emergency episode explaining President Trump's sweeping April 2 tariff announcement. Bown and Keynes turn to Douglas A. Irwin on history, Maurice Obstfeld on the US dollar, and Kathleen Claussen on law to clarify what we know about the tariff actions so far (29:14).
206. Paul Krugman talks trade, industrial policy, and Trump
Nobel Laureate Paul Krugman (City University of New York) joins for a wide-ranging conversation on historical lessons as well as some new thinking about international trade, the "agglomeration economies" driving geographically concentrated production, industrial policy, as well as the policy environment under President Trump (42:12).
205. Trump's Ukraine minerals deal and China
A potential US-Ukraine critical minerals agreement is only the latest effort to address security concerns over US sourcing of critical minerals from China. America's previous top diplomat for critical minerals, Geoff Pyatt (former Assistant Secretary of State, former US ambassador to Ukraine) joins to explain (33.47).
204. Is Europe ready for Trump?
Europe had a rocky ride during President Trump's first term, but it was largely spared from significant tariffs. The world is different this time around. Former European Commission trade official Rupert Schlegelmilch joins to explain (34:32).
203. What if Trump halts duty-free packages from China?
Shipments of small packages from China have skyrocketed, but the de minimis policy that excludes them from tariffs may end. Chris Casey (Congressional Research Service) joins to explore the history of the US de minimis policy and Amit Khandelwal (Yale University) shares economic research into the question of what happens if the policy ends (37:33).
202. Trump's steel and aluminum tariffs are back
President Trump first imposed tariffs on steel and aluminum in 2018, but this time it's different. Ana Swanson (New York Times) joins to explain (32:23).
201. Trade Talks is back. And so is President Trump.
Tariffs from the new President call for an emergency relaunch of the longstanding trade podcast. Aime Williams (Financial Times) joins to explain what happened with Canada, Mexico, and China (29:50). Read more…
And that is all for Trade Talks
Goodbye for now, as old friend Soumaya Keynes joins Chad Bown to discuss why and what comes next.
200. Has the USMCA improved working conditions in Mexico?
The USMCA was supposed to prevent workers from being mistreated at Mexican factories. How is it working so far?
199. How trade economists busted corruption at the port
When customs officials in Madagascar cheated their country out of tax revenues, economists caught them. But the fight is not over yet.
198. Inside Washington's lobbying industry
What we know about the US lobbying industry and how it influences trade and other types of economic policy.
197. Moving workers across Europe
How the European Union's controversial "posting" policy impacted the movement of workers as well as local communities across the continent.
196. How multinationals avoid taxes through technology licensing
Companies can avoid taxes by moving profits from IP royalties offshore. What would happen if that changed?
195. How did Canadian workers adjust so well to US trade?
Canadian workers faced new competition after the sudden free trade agreement with the US in 1989. Why were they able to adjust so successfully?
194. Industrial policy detectives: China's subsidies for shipbuilding
A new way to measure China's subsidies for shipbuilding reveals how much they transformed the industry for the country and world.
193. Did multinationals enforce Bangladesh's new labor law?
Following the Rana Plaza factory collapse, foreign companies promised to enforce Bangladesh's new labor law. What happened next?
192. Will more farm trade cause more deforestation?
As trade with farm exporting countries expands, governments must also consider how to prevent deforestation.
191. Brazil's trade opening and its toll on workers and crime
How Brazil's trade liberalization of the 1990s led to unexpected and lasting impacts on workers and a temporary rise in violence.
190. Climate change, floods, and the future of auto supply chains
What consumers can expect from auto companies investing in supply chain resilience as weather disasters loom.
189. South Korea's controversial industrial policy
How South Korea's Heavy and Chemical Industry Drive policy of 1973-79 worked and may have contributed to its economic rise.
188. Did responsible sourcing by multinationals help workers in poor countries?
What happened to workers and others in Costa Rica when global companies imposed new responsible sourcing codes of conduct on their suppliers.
187. Industrial policy and the rise of Romania's Silicon Valley
How a 2001 income tax break for Romanian software programmers helped transform the country's information technology sector.
186. How US lead regulations hurt Mexican babies
Higher US lead standards in 2009 resulted in more production and pollution from Mexican plants. Nearby infants and kids suffered.
185. The historic collapse of Switzerland's watch industry
New quartz technology and competition from Japan devastated the dominant Swiss watch industry of the 1970s. What happened next?
184. The US-EU fights over electric vehicles and the Inflation Reduction Act
EVs headlined the transatlantic dispute over the Inflation Reduction Act. That feud may be over, but other conflicts remain.
183. How the United States cleaned up container ship pollution
In 2012, the EPA started regulating maritime emissions of air pollutants. The shipping industry's response offers lessons for other countries.
182. Is China's industrial policy working?
The "Made in China 2025" subsidies both provoked a trade war and inspired similar moves by the US and other economies. But have they worked?
181. US-China trade war fallout: This is what decoupling looks like
How do we reconcile "record-level" US-China imports and exports when tariffs remain on more than half of trade between the two economies?
180. The WTO is in trouble. Econ 101 to the rescue?
How understanding the WTO's past can help foster its revival – including for policy challenges like climate and China's non-market economy.
179. Why Taiwan restricts high-tech investment into China
For decades, Taiwan has limited how and how much its tech firms like TSMC could invest in mainland China. Are there lessons for the United States?
178. Why sanctions to stop Russian gas pipelines backfired
US sanctions on European allies repeatedly failed to stop Russian gas pipelines, harmed transatlantic ties, and undermined US policy.
177. How the Rana Plaza factory collapse changed global supply chains
New research examines how NGOs, consumers, and major retailers responded to the outrage following the 2013 tragedy in Bangladesh.
176. The Cold War scandal over export controls
The leakage of submarine technology to the Soviet Union in the 1980s has lessons for the limits to and coordination of allies' export controls today.
175. The dreaded WTO ruling on Trump's national security tariffs
The WTO ruled against Trump's steel and aluminum tariffs, dragging the organization into thorny national security issues.
174. The incredible rise of Chinese fintech
New super apps and other internet-enabled technologies have transformed China's financial sector, with global implications, says Martin Chorzempa.
173: Did Britain's slave trade help drive its industrial revolution?
New research reveals how Britain's economy benefited from the brutal transatlantic slave trade and its slave holdings.
172. Peru's "China shock": Surprising turns and the women left behind
A flood of imports from China had an unexpected impact on the Peruvian clothing industry while discouraging Peru's women workers.
171. What makes a supply chain resilient
New research examining India's pandemic lockdowns sheds light on which supply chains stuck together, which broke apart, and why.
170. National security, semiconductors, and the US move to cut off China
The history behind the sudden US ban on certain exports to China, and how the policy affects the global semiconductor supply chain.
169. Taiwan's risky trade opening and how it paid off
In the 1950s, Taiwan was the first poor economy to experiment with trade reform. How its success changed the course of history for others.
168. Did Trump's trade war make China more protectionist?
Why it matters that Chinese public opinion toward trade and technology may have changed in response to US policy.
167. Will new US tax credits remake electric vehicle supply chains?
America's new EV subsidies have some carmakers upset. Others are head scratching. Can supply chains diversify away from China?
166. Biden's new Indo-Pacific talks vs. TPP
America's last attempt at trade talks with countries in the region ended badly. How Biden's IPEF approach is different.
165. The global minimum tax got left behind. What's next?
The Inflation Reduction Act omits the key global minimum corporate tax agreed to by over 135 countries. Will cooperation still happen?
164. Why a notorious banana company spared workers in Costa Rica
For decades, United Fruit Company exploited banana workers across its Latin American plantations, except in Costa Rica. Why?
163. How poorer Americans ended up paying for US tariffs.
From fashion to forks to fishing reels, how US trade negotiations starting in the 1930s resulted in regressive import duties today.
162. Poor countries could once enforce WTO trade. That is now at risk.
The Advisory Centre on WTO Law made trade enforcement possible for poor countries. The Appellate Body crisis put that under threat.
161. Why sharing patents for COVID-19 medicines is not enough
Despite the Medicines Patent Pool, COVID-19 treatments remain scarce globally. Prashant Yadav explains what more is needed.
160. How Putin's war could disrupt global food supplies
Joe Glauber explains the humanitarian crisis that looms if war cuts wheat exports from Ukraine and Russia. Soumaya Keynes says goodbye.
159. How Biden and Europe settled Trump's steel and aluminum tariffs
After years of dispute, the EU agreed to stop retaliating and to limit exports if the US lifted Trump's national security tariffs.
158. How America responded to its PPE shortage
The US reacted to COVID-19 shortfalls of hospital masks, gowns and gloves with unprecedented trade and industrial policy.
157. Europe's Trade Policy and Open Strategic Autonomy
Worried about being bullied by trading partners, the European Union is developing a host of new policy tools.
156. Tackling climate change with a carbon border adjustment mechanism
CBAM! The EU proposes phasing out free permits from its emissions trading system and phasing in a carbon tax on some imports.
155. How trade can break up with paper (it involves blockchain)
Legally and technologically, paper documents are essential to international trade. How that could change (it involves blockchain).
154. Global Britain: How's that going then?
A beginner's guide to the spat over Brexit's Northern Ireland Protocol, plus the UK signs a new trade deal with Australia.
153. Multilateral tax cooperation gets one step closer
The G7 economies agreed to a potential historic change in how governments tax multinational corporations.
152. The murky world of export restrictions for COVID-19 vaccines
COVID-19 vaccines and vaccine inputs are in short supply globally. How the EU, UK, US and India are all limiting exports.
151. Container shipping costs are through the roof. Who's paying?
Companies and regulators have begun to worry about the spike in container shipping costs and pandemic-related trade disruptions.
150: Is the WTO making it harder to end the pandemic?
India, South Africa, and more than 50 other countries propose changing WTO rules for vaccines and other medical supplies. Rachel Silverman (Center for Global Development) and Tom Bollyky (Council on Foreign Relations) help explain compulsory...
149. Everyone Loves (or Hates) Buy America
President Biden's first trade action was to tighten rules on what imports the US government can buy.
148. The EU's new trade policy, with Sabine Weyand of DG Trade
Sabine Weyand joins to discuss EU trade policy, transatlantic cooperation and conflict, China, forced labor, WTO, climate and more.
147. What's in the new EU-UK trade deal? Brexperts explain
The EU and UK announce their long-awaited trade agreement formalizing Brexit. What is covered, and what is still to be negotiated.
146. Semiconductors and US export bans – from Huawei to SMIC
How and why the United States is banning exports of semiconductors, software and tools to some of the world's largest companies.
145. Xinjiang's forced labor, supply chains, and trade sanctions
Concerns escalate that forced labor and other crimes against humanity are taking place in Xinjiang, China.
144. Trade policy transitions, with Ambassador Susan Schwab
From tariff leverage to trade deals, a former USTR explains how the baton is handed from one American administration to the next.
143. RCEP – Separating fact from friction
China, Japan, South Korea and 12 other Asian countries finally signed that mega-trade deal. Here's what's in it.
142. Can Biden Make Trade Boring Again?
The incoming US administration inherits a big trade agenda. Who will lead it and how much of it will they do?
141. Britain's Trade Policy, 1815-2016
From Corn Laws to Imperial Preferences to joining the EEC, Britain's current trade policy conundrum has echoes from the past.
140. Is shipping ship-shape?
Containerized shipping is an odd business in normal times. What happens when you add a pandemic and a trade war?
139. How Technology Enabled Trade: Digitization and Offshoring
At the turn of the century, electronic communication suddenly helped firms fragment production, but only some went overseas.
138. Trade and the worst financial crisis of the century—in 1866
London's central role in 19th century trade finance meant that its bank failure had effects for decades.
Recommended
10% Happier with Dan Harris
10-Minute Contrarian
10 Minutes Korean - Learn Korean & English Naturally
10 Minutes with Jesus
10 Minute Teacher Podcast with Cool Cat Teacher
10 minutos con Jesús
10th Floor Podcasts
10 to Life
1128 MINISTRY
11 O'Clock Comics Podcast
123 GO! Food
1-2-3 Learn Spanish with Me!
