Oct. 12, 2018 — Donald Trump thinks he once again pulled off a smashing victory on October 1, delivering on his oft-repeated campaign promise to terminate NAFTA, “the worst trade deal ever,“ and replace it with something much newer and better. One is tempted to say to oneself, “Let him think that.” The US-Mexico-Canada Agreement may not be an improvement over the status quo, but at least it is an improvement over the end to free trade in North America which he had threatened.
October 8, 2018 — Congratulations to Bill Nordhaus and Paul Romer on winning the ultimate prize in Economics. When I first heard, I wondered what the two have in common, beyond both doing path-breaking Nobel-worthy research.
September 27, 2018 — As of July, the US trade deficit had widened relative to a year ago, despite temporary improvement earlier in 2018. A new Census report today suggests: (1) further deterioration of the merchandise trade balance in August, and (2) a particular role for exports of food & feeds