from Why It Matters
from Why It Matters

Trailer: Why Trade Matters

Why It Matters is back and this time we are dedicating an entire season to talking about trade. Alongside CFR’s leading experts, we are bringing you stories from Americans around the country and trying to figure out where Washington went wrong when it comes to U.S. trade policy.

March 13, 2025 — 2:03 min
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  • Gabrielle Sierra
    Director, Podcasting
    Full Bio
Credits

Molly McAnany - Producer

Markus Zakaria - Audio Producer and Sound Designer

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Trade

Where Does U.S. Trade Go From Here?

Podcast
Global trade tensions are boiling over and questions about the United States’ economic future are at the center of the debate. As trade experts question what comes next, it’s important to analyze how the United States got to this point. How have the current administration’s trade policies of today reshaped the global order of tomorrow?

Podcast with Gabrielle Sierra, Michael Froman and Shannon K. O'Neil June 5, 2025 Why It Matters

U.S. Trade Deficit

Mind the Trade Gap

Podcast
The United States has had a trade deficit, meaning we import more than we export, for the past fifty years. But recently the trade deficit has become a front-burner issue for President Donald Trump and a core reason for his administration’s sweeping tariff policy. When do trade deficits become a problem? Is the United States already at the tipping point?

Podcast with Gabrielle Sierra, Brad W. Setser and Heather Hurlburt June 3, 2025 Why It Matters

Trade

Trade Agreements: Deal or No Deal

Podcast
With allies and adversaries alike impacted by new economic barriers and tariffs, the global map of U.S. trade relationships hangs in question. As the U.S. rethinks its commitments with its trading partners, allies may seek deals elsewhere, even with historic rivals. Can the president single-handedly tear up a trade deal, and what happens when deals that took decades to craft are suddenly up for renegotiation?

Podcast with Gabrielle Sierra and Inu Manak May 14, 2025 Why It Matters

Explore More on Trade

China

China’s Growing Influence in Latin America
For more than two decades, China has developed close economic and security ties with many Latin American countries, including Brazil, Peru, and Venezuela. But Beijing’s increasing sway in the region continues to raise concerns in Washington, prompting greater U.S. engagement.

by Diana Roy June 6, 2025

Southeast Asia

What Is ASEAN?
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations is a regional organization that brings together disparate neighbors to address economic and security issues, but the group’s impact remains limited.

by CFR.org Editors May 27, 2025

United States

The U.S. Trade Deficit: How Much Does It Matter?
President Trump has made reducing U.S. trade deficits a priority, but economists disagree over how much they matter and what to do about them.

by CFR.org Editors April 23, 2025 Renewing America

Top Stories on CFR

Economics

The Dollar’s Global Role and the Financing of the U.S. External Deficit
There is too much talk about the dollar’s role as a reserve currency and too little talk about expectations of exceptional returns. Reserve accumulation hasn’t driven the financing of the U.S. current account deficit in recent years.

by Brad W. Setser June 8, 2025 Follow the Money

Europe

Growing Conflict and Uncertain Alliances: On the Future of European Security
On the eighty-first anniversary of D-Day, CFR President Michael Froman and senior fellows discuss the Trump administration’s diminished appetite for engagement in European security affairs—even as the Russia-Ukraine war drags on.

by Michael Froman June 6, 2025

Ukraine

The Senate’s New Ukraine Bill Will Not Work—But Here Is How to Fix It
The Sanctioning Russia Act would impose history’s highest tariffs and tank the global economy. Congress needs a better approach, one that strengthens existing sanctions and adds new measures the current bill ignores.

by Stephen Sestanovich June 4, 2025 Wachenheim Program on Peace and Security