What America’s protectionist turn means for the world
Officials from Berlin to Tokyo are planning their response
![WIND GENERATORS, ALTAMONT PASS, CALIFORNIA (*)](https://www.economist.com/cdn-cgi/image/width=1424,quality=80,format=auto/content-assets/images/20230114_FNP002.jpg)
Step for a moment into the ancient past. The year is 2016. Michael Froman, the United States Trade Representative, is making a stirring call to arms. American workers and businesses are competing against firms that get subsidies and other favours from their governments. “The question”, he says, “is what do we do about it? Do we accept this status quo, or do we actively work to change it?” Mr Froman’s choice, in line with decades of his country’s trade policies, is the latter: try to tear down the subsidies hurting American exporters and gumming up global trade.
This article appeared in the Finance & economics section of the print edition under the headline “Protectionist turns”
Finance & economics January 14th 2023
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