Persistent surplus-country reliance on external demand and multilateral failure to induce domestic rebalancing drive a shift toward unilateral protectionism.
— Explains the erosion of rules-based trade, rising tariffs, and pressure to reform WTO/IMF; informs policy on industrial strategy and U.S.–Europe/China economic relations.
Oren Cass
2025.08.09
100% relevant
Wong cites two decades of unsuccessful IMF/Treasury efforts to boost domestic demand in China and Europe and Bergsten’s forecast of a protectionist backlash that has now materialized.
Oren Cass
2025.08.04
85% relevant
The article argues that high, uniform tariffs can reduce trade deficits and improve welfare without sparking retaliation, explicitly reframing concern with the balance of trade and rejecting laissez-faire assumptions—core to the backlash against rules-based free trade amid persistent global imbalances.
Thomas des Garets Geddes
2025.06.19
75% relevant
The article’s defense of more Chinese manufacturing despite surplus accusations invites escalating US/EU countermeasures, fitting the pattern where persistent external-demand reliance triggers unilateral protectionist responses.