Tariffs, Trade Wars, and Economic Isolation of the United States 4219-SE034-OG

Can high tariffs, trade wars, and economic isolation bring prosperity to America?

This course will attempt to describe, explain, and evaluate present (and quickly evolving) US economic policies vis-à-vis other countries – comparing Trump’s and Biden’s protectionism with more liberal policies of their predecessors, as well as assess possible consequences of economic isolationism for the US economy and prosperity of Americans.

First, students will learn the basics of international economic policies in the area of trade, taxation, capital and labor flows – and their consequences, as explained by mainstream economics. Then we will apply the theory to the actual US policies.

Utmost attention will be given to tariffs, non-tariff barriers to trade (including political sanctions), and trade wars waged by the US. The issues of currency convertibility, exchange rates, and slowly fading dollar’s dominance will be taken up, as well – as they are intrinsically connected with the trade flows and policies.

The course content will be adapted on the go to incorporate any significant changes in the economic policies of the current US Administration.

Finally, we will try to assess if the high tariffs, trade wars, and economic isolation could increase or decrease prosperity to America and Americans in the short and long run.

Type of course

elective courses

Mode

Classroom

Prerequisites (description)

This course is open to anybody, meaning that no previous knowledge of formal economic theory is required, although it would be helpful to possess it. Nevertheless, this course is NOT designed and recommended for students of economics (Faculties of Economic Sciences and of Management), as it is non-technical in nature and does not use any tools of formal economic and statistical analysis. Decent command of English is required.

Course coordinators

Andrzej Kondratowicz

Learning outcomes

1. KNOWLEDGE
After successfully completing the course the student should:
* Know the key tenets of what is considered a standard economic platform of the Republican Party.
* Be able to tell the difference between the standard economic platform of the Republican Party and Donald Trump’s economic agenda (“Trumponomics 1” and “Trumponomics 2”)
* Know what are the most important decisions of the Trump 1, Biden, and Trump 2 in the sphere of economic policies and how they shape the international economic relations between the US and the major players of the world economy.
* Know how the Trump 2 administrative orders and actions are different from those by Trump 1 admin.
* Understand potential and actual consequences of these decisions and actions on the domestic and international economic stance of the US in the short and long run.
* Describe the ways in which Donald Trump and his team have been trying to implement economic policies.
* Know a number of key figures of American economic, political and legal life that are/were considered important players in the Trump’s White House.
* Understand what uncertainty and chaos mean for the operations, stability, and success of particular classes of economic agents and for an economy as a whole is – in general and for the actual US economy.

2. SKILLS
After successfully completing the course the student should:
* Find sources of good quality information and data describing those parts of the US economy that have been and will be in the future influenced by Donald Trump’s economic policies.
* Be able to assess the impact of Donald Trump’s economic decisions/policies on various sectors of the US economy, on the economic interests of various social groups in the US, as well as on other national countries of the world.
* Be able to assess how Trump’s decisions and actions may lead to economic isolation of the US and what are the consequences thereof for the economic prosperity (well-being) of Americans.

3. SOCIAL COMPETENCES
After successfully completing the course the student should:
* Be aware of differences of opinions as to a number of Donald Trump’s decisions and economic policies.
* Be open to different views on the above subjects.
* Be aware of the consequences of Donald Trump’s decisions on the world leadership of the US in several areas (economic, political, moral).
* Accept the fact that economists only propose and politicians (like Donald Trump) dispose.

Assessment criteria

The course grade will consist of three elements (with respective weights, as indicated):

50% = student’s in-class performance, including presentations of the assigned reading material

25% = a final test (written; may contain multiple choice, true-false, matching pairs, and short open questions)

25% = a final essay on a selected topic related to the course matters [to be delivered before the end of semester – exact submission date and subject/s) will be announced to students at least three weeks in advance; according to the ASC UW rules – minimum length is five standardized pages; max six pages; in English; allowed formats: doc, docx, rtf, open office, pdf; further details will be spelled out on the elearning platform].

The passing minimum (threshold) for the course is 50 percent (i.e. 50 points out of 100). Points will not be rounded. The letter grade will begiven according to the following scale:

< 0; 50) = 2.0
<50; 60) = 3.0
<60; 70) = 3.5
<70; 80) = 4.0
<80; 90) = 4.5
<90; 100> = 5.0

The make-up will consist of a comprehensive test only – the test will count as 100% (i.e. the in-class performance will not count). It will be given in the regular university make-up session. The grading scale applied to the make-up will be steeper than on the original test.

Practical placement

N/A

Bibliography

As these are fresh and evolving matters, there is no textbook dealing with them in a systematic manner. Being a seminar, this course will be based entirely on articles, press clippings, and short analytical texts available on the net. In most cases they will be indicated by the instructor (and made available on the e-learning platform for the course). In some cases students will be expected to search for them after a proper guidance given by the instructor.

Additional readings:

Students who want to get a deeper understanding of the theoretical underpinnings of many US Administration’s decisions and policies are encouraged to read relevant chapters of any introductory textbook on economics. In particular, this may be J. Gwartney, R. Stroup, R. Sobel, D. Macpherson, Economics. Private and Public Choice, Thompson/South Western, whose at least two editions are available in the ASC Library [but any edition from 21st century would do].
In addition, students who want to get a deeper understanding of unorthodox economic policies of the first Trump administration are encourage to read Steven Moore and Arthur B. Laffer’s Trumponomics. Inside the America First Plan to revive Our Economy, St. Martin’s Press, 2018.

Additional information

Information on level of this course, year of study and semester when the course unit is delivered, types and amount of class hours - can be found in course structure diagrams of apropriate study programmes. This course is related to the following study programmes:

Additional information (registration calendar, class conductors, localization and schedules of classes), might be available in the USOSweb system:

Description of 4219-SE034-OG in USOSweb