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Trump's Mercantilism: All the Flaws, None of the Gains

Source: project-syndicate.org

Donald Trump's trade policies revive the worst parts of mercantilism, like obsessing over bilateral trade balances and using tariffs everywhere.
Successful countries used mercantilism smartly to build industries, but Trump skips those benefits entirely.
His approach ignores real causes of the US trade deficit and risks harming the economy without fixing jobs or competitiveness.

Dani Rodrik critiques Trump's trade policies as a bad version of mercantilism - an old economic idea focused on exports over imports to build national strength. It matters because these policies could spark trade wars, hurt US growth, and distract from smarter ways to boost domestic industry and jobs.