[Smart Q&A: Stephan Haggard] US-China Trade War: Is a Deal Possible?

Professor Stephan Haggard is currently a professor at the Graduate School of International Relations at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD), and holds the Krause Chair in Korea-Pacific Studies. As editor-in-chief of the Journal of East Asian Studies (JEAS), published by the East Asia Institute (EAI), and a fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, Professor Haggard has co-authored numerous works on the political economy of North Korea with Dr. Marcus Noland, including Famine in North Korea: Markets, Aid, and Reform (2007) and Witness to Transformation: Refugee Insights into North Korea (2011).

Table of Contents

[0:03-1:59]        Q1: What role did trade play in the 2016 election?

[2:00-3:55]         Q2: What were the Trump administration’s trade policy priorities?

[3:56-6:59]         Q3: How did China become the major focus of Trump’s trade policy?

[7:00 -10:05]      Q4: How is the trade war linked to Trump’s wider foreign policy?

[10:06-13:15]      Q5: What are the prospects for a deal?

[13:16-17:30]      Q6: What would a deal look like? And what if there is no deal?

Overview

In this Smart Q&A session, Professor Stephan Haggard discusses the prospects of the US-China trade war. Since the 2016 US presidential election, the Trump administration has positioned trade policy as a central pillar of US foreign policy, proposing reviews of various agreements such as the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and the US-Korea Free Trade Agreement (KORUS FTA). Furthermore, mindful of China's rapidly advancing industrial policies, China has been identified as a key target of US trade policy. Despite considerable pressure, President Trump is maintaining his stance that "no deal is better than a bad deal" ahead of the upcoming 2020 election, suggesting that negotiations between the US and China are likely to be prolonged.

The East Asia Institute (EAI) conducts Smart Q&A sessions through video interviews with domestic and international experts, aiming to provide timely and in-depth analysis of current issues through question-and-answer sessions with specialists in relevant fields. The content of this interview represents the personal opinions of the interviewee and does not reflect the official stance of the East Asia Institute. Please cite the source when quoting from the Smart Q&A.

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Attachment: Prof_Haggard_Smart_QnA_20190823.pdf