Monday, October 22, 2018

The British Economy and the Brexit Vote Explained in Two Charts

In the course of doing my day job, which involves writing about the US economy and international trade, I came across two stunning charts on the British economy which I would like to share with my British readers and anyone else who is interested. These two charts put a sharp spotlight on the performance of the British economy in recent years and go a long way towards explaining the Brexit vote of 2016. 

Wednesday, October 3, 2018

US-Mexico-Canada Deal is a Conceptual Breakthrough But Details Will Be Critical

Key USMCA architects: US Trade Rep Bob Lighthizer (c),
Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland, Mexican
Economy Minister Ildefonso Guajardo.
US-Mexico-Canada Deal is a Conceptual Breakthrough But Details Will Be Critical


The three magic numbers for understanding the new US-Mexico-Canada trade agreement (USMCA) negotiated by the Trump administration are 16, 16, and 6. Those numbers provide insight into a trade agreement that is conceptually revolutionary in the context of previous US trade agreements.  Donald Trump was elected president by voters who wanted him to shake up the bureaucratic world of trade and take unilateral US action where necessary for the betterment of US citizens, and he is doing just that.  He has corralled Canada and Mexico into accepting major modifications in concepts and goal that neither of those nations wanted.