Trade

What the document says

“President Trump urged Congress in his 2019 State of the Union address to pass the United States Reciprocal Trade Act (USRTA).”

Under the proposed act the President could bring any trading partner applying higher non-reciprocal tariffs to the negotiating table and, if it refused to lower them to American levels, raise American tariffs to match. The essay records that its sponsor said the purpose was not to raise tariffs but to give the President a targeted tool to force other countries to lower theirs, and cites a poll finding 80 percent support.

What the document says

“The next American President should strongly consider adopting all of them as a package”

The essay lists the measures: financial and tax incentives for companies onshoring production from China, ending the de minimis exemption for parcels under $800, barring Chinese state-owned enterprises from federal procurement, prohibiting Chinese-made drones in American airspace, banning Chinese social media applications including TikTok and WeChat, prohibiting Chinese investment in high-technology industries, and barring US pension funds from investing in Chinese companies.

What the document says

“Ban all Chinese social media apps such as TikTok and WeChat, which pose significant national security risks”

The essay says these applications expose American consumers to data and identity theft. It appears in the list of measures the essay asks the next President to adopt as a package.

What the document says

“whoever is the next President in 2025 should heed this critical principle whenever the flag of free trade is waved to prevent the adoption of needed reforms.”

The principle in question is that there can be no free trade without fair, reciprocal and balanced trade. The essay presents it as a guard against free trade arguments being used to block reform, and argues elsewhere that trade deficits matter to national security because a current account deficit must be offset by foreign investment in the United States.

What the document says

“The next Administration needs to end the mission creep that has all but taken over trade policy in recent years.”

The essay argues that trade policy has limited capabilities and is vulnerable to mission creep and regulatory capture, that progressive attempts to use it for climate and equity goals will fail because it is the wrong tool, and that conservatives should be equally skeptical of attempts on the right to use it to punish opponents or remake manufacturing. It adds that a cardinal rule is not to give yourself powers you would not want your opponents to have.

What the document says

“A conservative trade policy should limit trade-unrelated provisions in trade agreements.”

The essay says such provisions are routinely hijacked by progressives and rent-seekers, dilute otherwise worthwhile agreements and create extra points of contention. It adds that this does not mean ignoring international negotiations on labor, environment or intellectual property, but that those are more likely to succeed treated separately.

What the document says

“The U.S. should enact mutual recognition agreements for a wide variety goods with the United Kingdom, European Union, Japan, South Korea, Australia”

Mutual recognition means accepting another country's approvals and standards as equivalent. The essay says the benefits would be especially large for pharmaceuticals because the drug approval process is slower and more expensive than in other countries without being any safer, and that conservatives should embrace policies that increase competition while reducing the regulatory footprint.

What the document says

“working with Congress to repeal the Jones Act.”

The Jones Act requires ships travelling between American ports to be American-built, owned and crewed. The essay says shipbuilding could be the envy of the world in a free market but that the maritime lobby prefers what it calls a quiet, cozy existence on the dole while harming consumers and national security, and asks the Administration to grant exemptions unilaterally wherever allowed in the meantime.

What the document says

“The next President should ignore special interests and populist ideologues who want government to do the opposite through industrial policy, trade protectionism”

The essay argues that where something has been tried repeatedly and has not worked it should be stopped, and that the proper reform is not only to remove the individual tariffs that backfired but to build institutional safeguards against future abuse. It says rolling back tariffs enacted since 2017 would have a positive effect, while cautioning against overselling trade liberalization as a cure for inflation, which it calls predominantly a monetary phenomenon.

What the document says

“Trade-displaced workers should be eligible for the same benefits for which anyone else is eligible, no more and no less.”

The essay says technological change displaces six times as many workers as trade does yet those workers get no special treatment, that funding for job training tends to find its way to union funds and left-leaning nonprofits, and that if such assistance must be expanded direct cash transfers are better because cash is the most flexible aid and treats people as adults.