Jeffrey E. Garten

Trade policy is among the issues prompting U.S. voters to coalesce around Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump as presumptive nominees for president. Clinton opposes the Trans-Pacific Partnership, calling for a crackdown on trade violations and more enforcement; Trump is critical of nearly all trade agreements, vowing to get tough with top partners like Mexico and China. “The problem is not with the trade agreements,” argues Jeffrey E. Garten, author and emeritus dean of the Yale School of Management, in a memo to the candidates, but “with America’s failure to create policies at home that equip workers to adjust to rapid import penetration and to exploit new opportunities that trade could bring.” Garten, who participated in trade negotiations for four presidential administrations, both Republican and Democrat, concedes that the United States and other countries failed to manage a flood of imports as globalization went into overdrive. He urges the next president to prepare for a new global economy, crafting policies so workers can anticipate trends and adjust to new technologies. Until then, Garten calls for a moratorium on passage of any U.S. trade agreements.

Trade policy is among the issues prompting U.S. voters to coalesce around Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump as presumptive nominees for president. Clinton opposes the Trans-Pacific Partnership, calling for a crackdown on trade violations and more enforcement; Trump is critical of nearly all trade agreements, vowing to get tough with top partners like Mexico and China. “The problem is not with the trade agreements,” argues Jeffrey E. Garten, author and emeritus dean of the Yale School of Management, in a memo to the candidates, but “with America’s failure to create policies at home that equip workers to adjust to rapid import penetration and to exploit new opportunities that trade could bring.” Garten, who participated in trade negotiations for four presidential administrations, both Republican and Democrat, concedes that the United States and other countries failed to manage a flood of imports as globalization went into overdrive. He urges the next president to prepare for a new global economy, crafting policies so workers can anticipate trends and adjust to new technologies. Until then, Garten calls for a moratorium on passage of any U.S. trade agreements.