For decades, US trade policy was basically geared to multilateral liberalisation. When US President Donald Trump took office in January 2017, he looked determined to take a different approach. One of his slogans was “America first”. Two years on, Trump has certainly proved disruptive, not least by starting a tariff war with China. It is not clear, however, that he will manage to cause lasting damage. Iwan J. Azis of Cornell University sees reasons for hope.
