Profs & Pints Alameda: Trump, Trade Wars, and Globalization’s Future

Profs and Pints Alameda presents: “Trump, Trade Wars, and Globalization’s Future,” with Christopher M. Meissner, professor of economics at the University of California Davis and author of One from the Many: The Global Economy since 1850.

[Tickets available only online at https://www.ticketleap.events/tickets/profsandpints/alameda-trade .]

President Donald Trump’s recent declarations of stiff trade tariffs have many observers ready to proclaim the end of globalization. At least in the United States, free trade and open borders seem to be becoming relics of the past.

Gain perspective and insights on such developments and what they mean for our nation and the world with Christopher Meissner, an authority in comparative economic history and an expert on international financial crises, exchange rate policy, and international trade and finance.

Professor Meissner will explore today’s turn to tariffs in historical context, examining whether evidence supports President Trump’s assertion that past impositions of tariffs enabled our nation to grow rich. He’ll discuss the impact of past tariffs in terms of trade tensions, geopolitical rivalries, financial turmoil, and economic trends.

We’ll tackle the question of whether our nation’s latest tariffs—the highest imposed by the United States since World War II—are likely to lead to re-industrialization and prosperity or will come at regrettably high costs in terms of efficiency and prices paid by consumers. Dr. Meissner will present evidence showing that tariffs can prove effective in generating jobs in targeted sectors, but it takes a lot more than them to build a world-class, globally competitive economy.

Finally, we’ll look at the question of whether globalization has much of a future without the United States. Dr. Meissner will make the argument that globalization is unlikely to be permanently over, despite facing challenging times ahead. That said, America’s economic relationships with the world are almost certainly on a downward trajectory in the immediate foreseeable future. (Advance tickets: $13.50 plus processing fees. Doors: $17, or $15 with a student ID. Listed time is for doors. The talk starts 30 minutes later.)

Image: A Chinese freighter loaded with cargo containers. (Photo by kees torn / Creative Commons.)