How can trade help us achieve foreign policy objectives?
We should use trade in positive ways that promote our long-term foreign policy and economic goals, such as trade opening with China, Africa, and the Middle East. When we use trade to punish countries over policy disagreements, we risk undermining a key economic message: Trade liberalization is a win-win for long-term economic development and is not about doling out quasi-bribes or quasi-punishments. It’s critical that the world understand our commitment to multilateral trade liberalization not as a vehicle for U.S. hegemony but as a policy that helps raise living standards worldwide.
