Ambassador Jamieson Greer: Trade theory must catch up with tariffs, industrial policy, and ...
ustr.gov
Ambassador Greer argues that mainstream trade theory has been flat-out wrong for decades — and that tariffs and industrial policy are the real-world correction economists refused to see coming.
Comparative AdvantageStrategic Trade TheoryIndustrial PolicyInfant Industry Argument
Theory Briefing
- Greer claims the gap between trade theory and reality grew too large to ignore by Trump's first term, as millions of Americans lost high-quality jobs.
- Comparative advantage assumes free trade benefits all, but Greer argues it failed to account for industrial policy, currency manipulation, and geopolitical rivalry.
- The USTR is now framing tariffs not as protectionist distortions but as necessary tools to rebuild what pure free-trade theory dismantled.