Wendy Cutler: Trump Making a lot of Mistakes on Trade
Wendy Cutler on CNBC
On October 17, 2017, ASPI Vice President Wendy Cutler appeared on CNBC’s “Squawk Box” in Hong Kong to discuss U.S. trade policy toward Asia ahead of President Donald Trump’s first trip to the region.
Cutler notes that the Trump Administration is “making a lot of mistakes” by focusing its attention on bilateral trade deficits, and re-litigating existing trade agreements with its trade partners, which has the potential to create “serious trade friction.” Regarding U.S.-China trade relations, Cutler says that bilateral trade deficits are not the correct metric or objective for negotiations. Cutler explains that bilateral trade deficits between economies are due to macroeconomic forces and other factors, not simply trade barriers. (2 min., 53 secs)