Trump 47 Trade Policy and Anticompetitive Market Distortions
President Donald Trump on Inauguration Day issued a “Memorandum on America First Trade Policy.” The AFTP memo directed executive departments and agencies to issue reports to him by April 1 on actions the new administration could take to address specific international trade problems.
One major problem the memo highlighted is unfair foreign government practices that harm U.S. trade. Existing federal law already provides for possible remedial actions to confront this problem.
To render such remedies most effective, the Trump administration may wish to consider recent research on measuring and countering anticompetitive market distortions (ACMDs). ACMD analysis may provide a robust template for dealing with foreign governments’ unfair trade actions. Moreover, such analysis can yield precise cost estimates that are helpful to the United States in bilateral trade negotiations centered on unfair practices.