Douglas Irwin

Italian Pasta Is Poised to Disappear From American Grocery Shelves The Trump administration is set to impose duties of 107% on Italian pasta imports, among most punitive of the tariffs it has levied.

Just a friendly reminder that the anti dumping process continues to churn out high tariffs beyond Trump's reciprocal tariffs ... www.wsj.com/world/europe...

This is a historic day for trade policy. Background here ⤵️

In about an hour, you can listen to the Supreme Court oral arguments in the IEEPA tariff cases here:

www.supremecourt.gov/oral_argumen...

I doubt we'll hear anything new and interesting in the parties' arguments, but if the justices ask anything that seems worth noting, I'll try to note it here.

Opinion | The Canadians Are Right About Reagan and Free Trade

"In countless speeches, radio addresses, and policy actions, Reagan assailed the costs of protection and hailed the virtues of free trade.” Economics professor @douglasirwin.bsky.social shows how President Trump is rebranding Reagan’s free trade legacy in an opinion piece in the @nytimes.com.

Opinion | Trump’s Blanket Tariffs Are a Bridge Too Far The case against his use of IEEPA is powerful. The justices shouldn’t defer to presidential power.

www.wsj.com/opinion/trum...

The new globalisation paradox In the age of Donald Trump, national autonomy requires deeper integration. Brazil shows why

"Economic integration was once considered a threat to sovereignty. Today it has become its shield."

www.economist.com/finance-and-...

Opinion | The Canadians Are Right About Reagan and Free Trade

Excellent piece from @douglasirwin.bsky.social
Reagan: "We should beware of the demagogues who are ready to declare a trade war against our friends — weakening our economy, our national security and the entire free world — all while cynically waving the American flag
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/29/o...

Opinion | The Canadians Are Right About Reagan and Free Trade

www.nytimes.com/2025/10/29/o...
Want to understand Reagan's trade policies? You have to understand the three P's: principles, pragmatism, and politics....

More on Reagan v Trump on tariffs

www.wsj.com/opinion/reag...

On 2, check out Clashing over Commerce by @douglasirwin.bsky.social at p 574, quoting administration adviser Bill Niskanen: The Reagan administration's strategy was "to build a five-foot trade wall in order to deter a ten-foot wall [that would have been] established by Congress."

Opinion | Ronald Reagan Was No Protectionist He agreed to cap Japanese auto imports in 1981 but hated the deal and did it only as a compromise.

Yes, he was a free trader but did a strategic retreat in his first term under the pressure of the recession and Congress
www.wsj.com/opinion/rona...

Anne Krueger political economy of the rent seeking society in action in Argentina

"Openness is a driver of growth." New Nobel laureate in economics Philippe Aghion is pro-trade and anti-tariff . . . go figure!

Joel Mokyr: What Today's Economic Gloomsayers Are Missing In The Wall Street Journal, Joel Mokyr writes that science is enabling invention like never before and in ways that will improve life but isn't captured by GDP statistics.

"The responsibility of economic historians is to remind the world what things were like before 1800. Growth was imperceptibly slow, and the vast bulk of the population was so poor that a harvest failure would kill millions." - Joel Mokyr
www.wsj.com/articles/joe...

Another excellent episode . . . .where can I read more about Labour politics in the 1970s and 1980s, and Militant in particular? Any recommendations? Thank you!

📢CFP
Tariffs and Trade Policy: Past, Present, & Future

@ncsu: Dec 5, 6, 7 (am)
Due: Sept 30 tinyurl.com/2stm2fk7

Papers: 8 + Discuss
Keynote: @douglasirwin.bsky.social
Panel: Chad Bown +TBD
Sponsor: @NSF
NEW TARIFF DATABASE 1789-2025

Funding: Flight+Hotel+Food (presenter/discussant)

U.S. Government to Take Cut of Nvidia and AMD A.I. Chip Sales to China

The US Constitution forbids export taxes but I guess this payment isn't a "tax" but a payout....🤔 www.nytimes.com/2025/08/10/t...

On cue . .

Some great lines from @davidfrum.bsky.social

"There is no socialist way to create wealth. There is only a socialist way to spend wealth."
"While Trump’s behavior discredits markets, his rhetoric vilifies markets."
& more . . .
www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archiv...

US tariffs: Lesotho declares state of disaster amid US tariff uncertainty Lesotho faces tariffs of 50% - higher than any other country because of its large trade surplus with the US.

Heartbreaking to the extent that US tariff policy contributed to this . . . www.bbc.com/news/article...

Watch the AHA’s Congressional Briefing on the history of tariffs on C-SPAN. Panelists @douglasirwin.bsky.social, @sharonannmurphy.bsky.social, & @rauchway.bsky.social discussed how the government has implemented tariffs in the past & how they have impacted the economy. 🗃️

AHA Congressional Briefing: History of Tariffs – AHA The American Historical Association (AHA) will host a Congressional Briefing offering historical perspectives on tariffs. The briefing will take place on Wednesday, June 11, at 9:00 a.m. ET in Rayburn...

Tomorrow, on 6/11, the AHA will host a Congressional Briefing offering historical perspectives on tariffs. Panelists @douglasirwin.bsky.social, @sharonannmurphy.bsky.social, & @rauchway.bsky.social will discuss how the govt. has implemented tariffs in the past, & how they have impacted the economy.🗃️

The standard errors of persistence Many studies of historical persistence find that modern outcomes strongly reflect characteristics of the same places in the distant past. However they…

This one seems pretty important . . . goes after a slew of them
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Greg Mankiw in the WSJ on whether economics is a science

Attention Capitol Hill staffers:

The ancients were onto something....

Speaking Wednesday w/Madison Cmte on Foreign Relations #econsky
econbrowser.com/archives/202...