Donald Trump’s Protectionist Trade Policy from the Perspective of Economic Nationalism
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.18196/hi.72132Keywords:
Donald Trump, economic nationalism, protectionism, trade policy, state and marketAbstract
This article aims to analyze American trade policy under Donald Trump’s administration. President Trump has imposed a set of tariffs and quotas for such imported agriculture and manufactured products. Such trade policies triggered many American trading partners, most notably China and NAFTA members, to take any retaliatory measures, starting trade war. Preliminary observation on this issue starts with two problematization. First, Trump’s trade policies failed to push his trade partners for their trade compliances despite of their higher relative export dependency on American market rather than on the contrary. Second, most of Trump’s “trade belligerents” are democratic countries; it is another anomaly for established assumption about democratic peace theory which has stated that structures and norms held by democratic countries prevent them to engage conflictual relations in both political-security and economy. Further research has found that competitive trade structure US Government faced at some traded commodities put American trade interests at stake against other conflicting countries. In order to protect such interest, President Trump must deliver restrictive measures—tariffs and quotas—in favor of domestic industries and market. Such behavior is justified by both President Trump’s view and tenet aboutthe construction of American nation and his political mobilization of popular far-right mass which also contribute to the discourse of contemporary American nationalism. The result is American economic nationalism which drives domestic political configuration to support President Trump’s political economic initiatives.References
Abramitzky, R., & Boustan, L. (2017). Immigration in American Economic History. Journal of Economic Literature, 55(4), pp. 1311-1345.
Adams, I. (2001). Political Ideology Today. Manchester: Manchester University Press.
Anderson, B. (2006). Imagined Community. London: Verso.
Bibliography Bloomberg. (2018, January 23). How Asian Giants Can Counter Trump's Washing Machine Tariff. Bloomberg. Retrieved 15 October 2018, from https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-01-23/how-asian-giants-can-counter-trump-s-washing-machine-levy
Bonikowski, B., & DiMaggio, P. (2016). Varieties of American Popular Nationalism. American Sociological Review, 81(5), pp. 949-980.
Bown, C. P. (2018, March 9). Europe is Pushing Back Against Trump’s Steel and Aluminum Tariffs, Here’s how. The Washington Post. Retrieved 21 July 2018, from https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/monkey-cage/wp/2018/03/09/europe-is-pushing-back-against-trumps-steel-and-aluminum-tariffs-heres-how/?utm_term=.6dbe8cce8c40
Bown, C. P., & Kolb, M. (2018, July 5). Is Trump in a Trade War? An Up-to-Date Guide. Peterson Institute for International Economics. Retrieved 10 July 2018, from https://piie.com/blogs/trade-investment-policy-watch/trump-trade-war-china-date-guide
Buenker, J. D., Burnham, J. C., & Crunden, R. M. (1986). Progressivism. Cambridge, MA: Schenkman Publication Company.
Canadian Department of Finance. (2018, June 29). Countermeasures in Response to Unjustified Tariffs on Canadian Steel and Aluminum Products. Department of Finance Canada. Retrieved 21 July 2018, from https://www.fin.gc.ca/access/tt-it/cacsap-cmpcaa-1-eng.asp
Carnes, N., & Lupu, N. (2017, June 5). It's Time to Bust the Myth: Most Trump Voters Were Not Working Class. The Washington Post. Retrieved 14 October 2018 from https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/monkey-cage/wp/2017/06/05/its-time-to-bust-the-myth-most-trump-voters-were-not-working-class/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.15f65f060302
CEIC. (2018). Indicators: Gross National Product. CEIC. Retrieved 13 October 2018, from https://www.ceicdata.com/en/indicators
Chang, H. J. (2002). Kicking Away the Ladder: Development Strategy in Historical Perspective. London: Anthem Press.
Chu, B. (2017, February 24). What is Steve Bannon’s ‘Economic Nationalism’? And Should We be Scared? The Independent. Retrieved 10 July 2018 from https://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/steve-bannon-economic-nationalism-what-is-it-explained-donald-trump-cpac-2017-a7598181.html
Cincotta, H., Brown, D. M., Burant, S., Green, M., Holden, J. S., & Marshall, R. (2011). Garis Besar Sejarah AS. Washington, D.C.: US Department of State.
CNN. (2016, November 23). Election 2016: Exit Polls. CNN Politics. Retrieved 20 July 2018, from https://edition.cnn.com/election/2016/results/exit-polls
Conte, C., Karr, A., Clark, G., Hug, K. E., & Manning, L. (1981). Garis Besar Ekonomi Amerika Serikat. Washington, D.C.: Office of International Information Programs, United States Department of States.
Crick, B. (2002). Democracy: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Curtis, A. (Director). (2016). HyperNormalisation [Motion Picture].
Curtis, A. (Sutradara). (2016). HyperNormalisation [Gambar Hidup].
Dahl, R. A. (1971). Polyarchy: Participation and Opposition. New Haven: Yale University Press.
Doyle, M. W. (1983). Kant, Liberal Legacies, and Foreign Affairs, Part 2. Philosophy & Public Affairs, 12(4), pp. 323-353.
Doyle, M. W. (1983). Kant, Liberal Legacies, and Foreign Affairs. Philosophy & Public Affairs, 12(3), pp. 205-235
.
Dunlevy, J. A., & Hutchinson, W. K. (1999). The Impact of Immigration on American Import Trade in the Late Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Centuries. Journal of Economic History, 59(4), pp. 1043-1062.
Farhi, P. (2016, February 26). Think Trump’s Wrong? Fact Checkers Can Tell You How Often (Hint: A lot). The Washington Post. Retrieved 2 October 2018, from https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/the-existential-crisis-of-professional-factcheckers-in-the-year-of-trump/2016/02/25/e994f210-db3e-11e5-81ae-7491b9b9e7df_story.html?noredirect=on&utm_term=.44da35ddb617
Friedman, U. (2018, February). What Is Populist? The Atlantic. Retrieved 1 October 2018, from https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2017/02/what-is-populist-trump/516525/
Gellner, E. (1983). Nations and Nationalism. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press.
Gibson, C., & Jung, K. (2005). Historical Census Statistics on Population Totals by Race, 1790 to 1990, and by Hispanic Origin, 1970 to 1990, for Large Cities and Other Urban Places in the United States. Washington, D. C.: U.S. Census Bureau.
Gillon, S. M., & Matson, C. D. (2002). The American Experiment: a History of the United States. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company.
Hackett, R. (2016, August 3). Here Are All the Billionaires Backing Donald Trump. Fortune. Retrieved 15 October 2018, from http://fortune.com/2016/08/03/trump-billionaire-backers-list/
Hirschman, C., & Mogford, E. (2009). Immigration and the American Industrial Revolution from 1880 to 1920. Social Science Research, 38(4), pp. 897-920.
Holzer, H. J. (2018, January 17). One Year in: Has Trump been Good for US Workers? Brookings. Retrieved 14 October 2018, from https://www.brookings.edu/opinions/one-year-in-has-trump-been-good-for-us-workers/
IEA. (2016). 2015: Snapshot of Global Photovoltaic Markets. Paris: International Energy Association.
IIS UGM. (2018, 2018 August). Negara dan Pasar. IPEDia (Instagram Post). Retrieved from https://instagram.com/p/BmTCU4pg6A8/
Independence Hall Association. (2018). 29. Manifest Destiny. U.S. History. Retrieved from http://www.ushistory.org/us/29.asp
Kamarck, E., Hudak, J., & Stenglein, C. (2017, August 15). Immigration by the Numbers. Brookings. Retrieved 16 October 2018, from https://www.brookings.edu/interactives/immigration-by-the-numbers/?keyword=immigrants
Kanev, D. (2017). Why Trump Won the Election - In View of the Prospect Theory. Economic Archive, LXX(3), pp. 27-39.
Lebergott, S. (1966). Labor Force and Employment, 1800–1960. In D. S. Brady, Output, Employment, and Productivity in the United States after 1800 (pp. 117-204). Cambridge, MA: The National Bureau of Economic Research.
Lind, M. (2003, January 20). Free Trade Fallacy. Prospect. Retrieved 18 July 2018, from https://prospectmagazine.co.uk/magazine/freetradefallacy
Lu, Z., & Schott, J. J. (2018, April 9). How Is China Retaliating for US National Security Tariffs on Steel and Aluminum? Peterson Institute for International Economics. Retrieved 21 July 2018, from https://piie.com/research/piie-charts/how-china-retaliating-us-national-security-tariffs-steel-and-aluminum
Maytaal, A. (2017, October 16). Global Steel Demand Growth to Slow in 2018, Worldsteel Says. Reuters. Retrieved 21 July 2018, from https://www.reuters.com/article/us-steel-demand-global/global-steel-demand-growth-to-slow-in-2018-worldsteel-says-idUSKBN1CL0Q8
McClelland, E. (2016, September 23). Why Trump Won't Save the Rust Belt. The New York Times. Retrieved 14 October 2018, from http://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/23/opinion/campaign-stops/why-trump-wont-save-the-rust-belt.html
Michalet, C. A. (1976). Le Capitalisme Mondiale. Paris: Press Universitaires de France.
Ministry of Commerce of P. R. China. (2018, April 4). Announcement on the Imposition of Tariffs on Some Imported Goods Originating in the United States. The State Council Information Office of the People's Republic of China. Retrieved 21 July 2018, from http://www.scio.gov.cn/xwfbh/xwbfbh/wqfbh/37601/38181/xgzc38187/Document/1626839/1626839.htm
Mokyr, J. (2018). Economics 323-2: Economic History of the United States Since 1865. Joel Mokyr: Department of Economics (Northwestern University). Retrieved 10 October 2018, from http://faculty.wcas.northwestern.edu/~jmokyr/Graphs-and-Tables.PDF
Monten, J. (2005). The Roots of the Bush Doctrine: Power, Nationalism, and Democracy Promotion in U.S. Strategy. International Security, 29(4), pp. 112-156.
Muller, K., & Schwarz, C. (2018, March 28). Making America Hate Again? Twitter and Hate Crime Under Trump. Social Science Research Network. Retrieved 3 October 2018, from https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3149103
Nakano, T. (2004). Hegel’s Theory of Economic Nationalism: Political Economy in the Philosophy of Right. The European Journal of the History of Economic Thought, 11(1), pp. 33-52.
Nau, H. N. (2017, January 6). America’s International Nationalism. The American Interest. Retrieved 11 October 2018, from https://www.the-american-interest.com/2017/01/06/americas-international-nationalism/
Olzak, S., & Shanahan, S. (2003). Racial Policy and Racial Conflict in the Urban United States, 1869-1924. Social Forces, 82(2), pp. 481-517.
Polimpung, H. Y. (2014). Asal Usul Kedaulatan: Telaah Psikogenealogis atas Hasrat Mikrofasis Bernegara. Depok: Penerbit Kepik.
Rogers, K. (2018, June 22). Trump Highlights Immigrant Crime to Defend His Border Policy. Statistics Don’t Back Him Up. The New York Times. Retrieved 2 October 2018, from https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/22/us/politics/trump-immigration-borders-family-separation.html
Schwartz, I. (2017, February 27). Trump: I Am A Nationalist in A True Sense. Real Clear Politics. Retrieved 5 July 2018, from https://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2017/02/27/trump_i_am_a_nationalist_in_a_true_sense.html
Shan, Z. (2010, March 26). U.S.-China Trade Is Win-Win Game. Embassy of the People's Republic of China in the United States of America. Retrieved 22 July 2018, from http://www.china-embassy.org/eng/xw/t675646.htm
Shmoop. (2018). Economy in The Jackson Era. Shmoop. Retrieved 11 October 2018, from https://www.shmoop.com/jackson-era/economy.html
Smith, R. (2011, April 15). When The U.S. Paid Off The Entire National Debt (And Why It Didn't Last). Planet Money. Retrieved 11 October 2018, from https://www.npr.org/sections/money/2011/04/15/135423586/when-the-u-s-paid-off-the-entire-national-debt-and-why-it-didnt-last
Strange, S. (2015). State and Market (Cetak Ulang ed.). London: Bloomsbury.
Swanson, A., & Tankersley, J. (2018, June 5). Mexico, Hitting Back, Imposes Tariffs on $3 Billion Worth of U.S. Goods. The New York Times. Retrieved 18 July 2018, from https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/05/us/politics/trump-trade-canada-mexico-nafta.html
The Quote Company. (2018). Solar Panel Prices. The Quote Company. Retrieved 23 July 2018, from https://www.solarmarket.com.au/tips/solar-panel-prices/
Trump, D. J. (2018, March 2). Tweets. Twitter Page. Retrieved 10 August 2018, from https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/969525362580484098
US Census Bureau. (1949). Historical Statistics of the United States, 1789 - 1945. Washington, D.C.: United States Census Bureau.
US Census Bureau. (1975). Bicentennial Edition: Historical Statistics of the United States, Colonial Times to 1970. Washington, D.C.: US Census Bureau.
US Census Bureau. (2018, July 12). Top Trading Partners - December 2017. US Census Bureau. Retrieved 18 July 2018, from https://www.census.gov/foreign-trade/statistics/highlights/top/top1712yr.html
US Census Bureau. (2018, July 12). Trade in Goods with World, Seasonally Adjusted. United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 10 August 2018, from https://www.census.gov/foreign-trade/balance/c0004.html
US Department of Commerce. (2018). The Effect of Aluminum on the National Security: An Investigation Conducted under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 as Amended. Washington, D. C.: United States Department of Commerce.
US Department of Homeland Security. (2018). Military Naturalization During WWII. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service. Retrieved 28 September 2018, from https://www.uscis.gov/history-and-genealogy/our-history/agency-history/military-naturalization-during-wwii
US International Trade Commission. (2010). U.S. Imports; AVE Duties 1891-2008. US International Trade Commission. Retrieved 10 October 2018, from https://dataweb.usitc.gov/scripts/AVE.PDF
US International Trade Commission. (2017, October 31). USITC Announces Remedy Recommendations in its Global Safeguard Investigation Involving Imports of Crystalline Silicon Photovoltaic Cells (Whether or Not Partially or Fully Assembled into Other Products. United States International Trade Commission https://www.usitc.gov/press_room/news_release/2017/er1031ll857.htm
US Trade Representative. (2018). Findings of the Investigation into China’s Acts, Policies, and Practices Related to Technology Transfer, Intellectual Property, and Innovation under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974. Washington, D.C.: United States Trade Representative.
Williams, A., & Hauslohner, A. (2018, March 23). Hate Crimes Rose the Day after Trump Was Elected, FBI Data Show. The Washington Post. Retrieved 3 October 2018, from https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2018/03/23/hate-crimes-rose-the-day-after-trump-was-elected-fbi-data-show/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.4ca8532d9a56
World Steel Association. (2018). World Steel in Figures 2018. Brussels: World Steel Association.
WTO. (2018, May 14). DS545: United States-Safeguard Measure on Imports of Crystalline Silicon Photovoltaic Products. World Trade Organization. Retrieved 21 July 2018, from https://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/dispu_e/cases_e/ds545_e.htm
WTO. (2018, May 14). DS546: United States-Safeguard Measure on Imports of Large Residential Washers. World Trade Organization. Retrieved 21 July 2018, from https://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/dispu_e/cases_e/ds546_e.htm
Zeng, K. (2004). Trade Threats, Trade Wars: Bargaining, Retaliation, and American Coercive Diplomacy. Ann Arbor: The University of Michigan Press.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
License
This journal is based on the work at journal.umy.ac.id/index.php/jhi under license from Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License. You are free to:
- Share – copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format.
- Adapt – remix, transform, and build upon the material.
The licensor cannot revoke these freedoms as long as you follow the license terms, which include the following:
- Attribution. You must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made. You may do so in any reasonable manner but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses you or your use.
- Non-Commercial. You may not use the material for commercial purposes.
- No additional restrictions. You may not apply legal terms or technological measures that legally restrict others from doing anything the license permits.
Copyright
The author should be aware that by submitting an article to this journal, the article's copyright will be fully transferred to Jurnal Hubungan Internasional. Authors are allowed to resend their manuscript to other journals or intentionally withdraw the manuscript only if both parties (Jurnal Hubungan Internasional and Authors) have agreed on the issue. Once the manuscript has been published, authors are allowed to use their published article under Jurnal Hubungan Internasional copyrights.
All authors are required to deliver the agreement of license transfer once they submit the manuscript to Jurnal Hubungan Internasional. By signing the agreement, the copyright is attributed to this journal to protect the intellectual material for the authors. Authors are allowed to share, copy and redistribute the material in any medium and in any circumstances to give appropriate credit and wide readership to the work.