Limited lobby for a Trump-led trade war
Date: | 30 January 2017 |

In an interview with the (Dutch) Financieel Dagblad, Marcel Timmer argues that the current era of production fragmentation makes it less likely that a trade war will flare up: "Lobbying for protection from foreign competition only makes sense if a producers relies nearly entirely on domestic production and inputs." If, on the other hand, exporters are also major importers of foreign-produced materials and parts, the benefits from trade protection for some producers is quickly outweighed by costs for others.