Economic Statecraft

Bloggingheads, December 23, 2013 Read More ›

  Recently, there have been two significant developments on U.S. trade agenda. Last month President Obama, European Commission President José Manuel Barroso and European Council President Herman Van Rompuy officially launched the negotiations on the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), a free trade agreement between the U.S. and the European Union. And earlier this week, the latest round of negotiations on the Transpacific Partnership agreement (TPP), were launched in Malaysia. These two agreements signify an ambitious trade agenda for the U.S. in light of the long-stalled Doha rounds. However, it also marks an ambitious strategic agenda. If twentieth century strategy and America’s role in the world were dominated by military engagement, then twenty-first century strategy will face an increasing importance on economic engagement, what has… Read More ›

Today, the annual U.S.-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue (S&ED) introduces four top officials all new to their posts: Secretary of State John Kerry, Treasury Secretary Jack Lew, Chinese Vice-Premier Wang Yang and State Councilor Yang Jiechi. The dialogue highlights recent positive trends in complex security and economic relations between the two powers where enormous differences remain – cybersecurity, North Korea, maritime disputes, investment and financial policy –   though no concrete deliverables are likely. Security: signs of progress, difficult road ahead: Cybersecurity working group meets for first time as U.S. military leaders highlight enormous challenges. Politico reports, “top Obama administration officials met with Chinese leaders Monday for a special cybersecurity working group that preceded the official Strategic and Economic Dialogue…Senior administration sources told reporters after the… Read More ›

 Today, President Obama will begin his weeklong trip to Africa, visiting Senegal, South Africa and Tanzania. While U.S. foreign policy has been largely preoccupied with responsibly ending two wars, the strategic rebalance to Asia and ongoing challenges in the Middle East, the case for renewed U.S. engagement in Africa is steadily increasing. The rapid economic development of a number of economies in the region, with trade flows now larger than aid flows to the continent, present historic opportunities for the United States to increase trade and compete for market access. Africa’s security challenges are also increasingly important for American interests as maritime insecurity threatens global consequences, as do the evolving threats of terrorism and militancy. Going forward, helping to shape the future of Africa will… Read More ›

Yesterday, President Obama and some of his European counterparts officially announced their shared intent to move forward with negotiating the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) – a prospective free trade agreement between Washington and the EU’s 27 member states. The initiative represents the latest element in the administration’s strategy to support the economic foundations of American power and modernize U.S. national security strategy for the 21st century where competitiveness will sustain U.S. global leadership. The Partnership is intended as a high-standards agreement to help shape the norms in areas like tariff reduction, investment and complex, often burdensome regulations across markets. To make this promise a reality, TTIP negotiations will have to incorporate stakeholders from business, labor and civil society in innovative and effective ways. … Read More ›

On Friday and Saturday, President Obama and Chinese President Xi Jinping will meet for an unprecedented two day summit in California. The summit is an opportunity to “rightsize” the relationship – not offering many concrete deliverables but building toward the blend of competition and cooperation that offers the best path toward a stable, prosperous and increasingly open Pacific future. Among the many important issues on the table, the four issues of cybersecurity, economic competition, military relations and China’s often serious disputes with American allies require the greatest clarity and care to set the stage for progress across the board.  Tackling cybersecurity:  What’s at stake: Sino-U.S. relations in cyberspace are perhaps the most immediate and sensitive issue confronting Xi and Obama. Chinese officials have pushed back… Read More ›

Today, South Korean President Park Geun-hye will address a joint session of Congress, an opportunity afforded only to America’s closest partners. She speaks as U.S. and South Korean resolve and diplomatic coordination are showing progress in diminishing provocations from Pyongyang, which now appear to be tapering off. Going forward, sustained U.S. and South Korean coordination will be necessary to manage future flare ups, move China to play a larger role, and look toward engagement as circumstances warrant. More broadly, America’s relationship with the South is increasingly vital to spark and sustain economic growth through trade, innovation, education and tackling global challenges together, like climate change. Efforts to dial down tensions show signs of paying off, long-road ahead. A combination of clear military resolve and close… Read More ›

To read the full report, click here. By Bill French March 2013 A NEW PHASE of the debate over Pentagon spending is on the horizon. On March 1, sequestration went into effect as mandated by the Budget Control Act (BCA) and as modified by the American Taxpayer Relief Act. Under sequestration, Pentagon spending is to be reduced by approximately $500 billion over the next decade. But whether or not sequestration is the mechanism of reductions, what the Pentagon needs now are choices about U.S. strategic priorities in order to guide allocating resources.  Therefore, whereas the debate prior to sequestration focused tightly on budgetary considerations, the next round of debate over funding for the Department of Defense (DoD) will likely focus on the connection between resources and… Read More ›

As the March 1 deadline for sequestration approaches, new reports highlight how nonstrategic across-the-board cuts would cause harm to America’s social wellbeing, economy and national security. Today the Pentagon previewed hundreds of thousands of civilian furloughs — mirrored in federal law enforcement, public health, social security and other domestic priorities. Congress must act to avoid sequestration – a mechanism that was never intended to go into effect. President Obama has again called on Congress to do just that and, if necessary, delay sequestration “not to kick the can down the road, but give them time to work together on a plan to finish job of deficit reduction in a sensible way.” While the focus on the impact of sequestration has been mainly on jobs, the more… Read More ›

In his second inaugural address, President Obama laid out his vision for how the United States should lead in the world, with strength and justice together: But we are also heirs to those who won the peace and not just the war, who turned sworn enemies into the surest of friends, and we must carry those lessons into this time as well. We will defend our people and uphold our values through strength of arms and rule of law. We will show the courage to try and resolve our differences with other nations peacefully – not because we are naïve about the dangers we face, but because engagement can more durably lift suspicion and fear. America will remain the anchor of strong alliances in every… Read More ›