AU Economic Policy National Security Tariffs on Steel & Aluminum Imports Discussion

I’m working on a economics writing question and need guidance to help me study.

Write a blog post of approximately 750-1000 words on one (1) of the questions from the list below.

1. What advice would you give to the Biden administration for whether it should keep or change the various tariffs adopted by the Trump administration, focusing especially (1) the “national security” tariffs on steel and aluminum imports and/or (2) the “trade war” with China (tariffs on Chinese imports). [Please do not address NAFTA / USMCA or other specific trade agreements for #1, as those are covered in other questions.] Do you think those tariffs were a good way of helping US workers? Why or why not? Would you recommend maintaining or eliminating these tariffs, or under what conditions would you support eliminating them? (Relevant readings are available in the Module for Topic 6 and some earlier topics.)
2. Is the new USMCA (United States-Mexico-Canada Agree­ment) an improvement over the old NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement) or not? Which of the changes in USMCA do you think are are improvements compared to NAFTA, and which are not? Be specific about problems with the original NAFTA that the new agreement does or does not fix, and any new problems you think it may create. Note: You can address this question from the standpoint of any or all of the three member countries (US, Mexico, and/or Canada). (Relevant readings are available in the Module for Topic 7.)
3. In “What Do Trade Agreements Really Do?”, Dani Rodrik (2018) [assigned for Topic 7 and available on Course Reserves under Journal of Economic Perspectives] observes that “Contemporary trade agreements go much beyond [reducing] traditional trade restrictions at the border,” and argues that traditional economic analyses of the benefits and costs (or gains and losses) from trade liberalization are not relevant to evaluating these many other provisions. What other kinds of provisions are included in today’s trade agreements and do you think these are generally in the interest of domestic consumers and citizens or not? If not, what other kinds of interests do these provisions serve, and what kinds of alternative policies do you think should be incorporated in future trade agreements? In addition to Rodrik, your readings (sources) for this question should include the paper by Sandra Polaski et al. (2020), linked in the Readings for Topic 6, and there are various other relevant readings posted on Canvas [for example, the article by Josh Bivens (2017) in Readings for Topic 4, and various others].
4. The United Kingdom (UK) has now completed its “Brexit” from the European Union (EU) through the trade agreement reached at the end of 2020. What are the provisions and impli­cations of that agreement for future UK-EU trade and investment? Do you expect Brexit (with this agreement in place) to bring gains or losses to the UK economy, and why? Would you advocate the US negotiating a free trade agreement with the UK, now that it has left the EU? Why or why not? (A few relevant readings are posted in the Module for Topic 7; you can find many other sources by searching online.)
5. What were the Obama administration’s objectives for the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), why was TPP so controversial at the time (up to 2016), and how did TPP change after Trump withdrew the US from it and the other 11 countries went ahead without the US (renaming the agreement CPTPP or TPP-11, and dropping some US-backed provisions) in 2017? How was TPP intended to address China’s influence in the Pacific region, given that China was not included? Should the US consider re-joining CPTPP, and if so, should it insist on restoring any provisions that were eliminated after Trump withdrew (or not)? Defend your view. Also (optionally), you may wish to compare CPTPP with the RCEP agreement, spearheaded by China, as a model for regional trade and cooperation in the Asia-Pacific region. (Note: There are a few relevant readings in Canvas under Topic 7, but you will mostly have to find your own sources if you choose this question. Many of the professor’s old sources and links about TPP were lost in the transition from Blackboard to Canvas, but he can help you to find relevant older materials if you contact him via email or in office hours. If he finds more, he may add it to the Topic 7 readings.)

You are free to using outside sources, when you picked the questions and you need reading for that question. Please let me know.