CSIS Economics Program and Scholl Chair

The Scholl Chair has expanded to reconstitute the CSIS Economics Program, led by Philip Luck (@paluck). On this platform and others, we will continue to explore international economic issues and how they impact U.S. competitiveness, technology leadership, and economic security.

“The war with Iran could well be a case where Trump’s normal pattern—act, wait to see what happens, react, rinse and repeat—will not work”, writes CSIS Bill Reinsch in a commentary on the impact of the war on Iran. Read here: csis.org/analysis/abrac…

The UK will cut tariff free steel import quotas by 60 percent starting in July and impose a 50 percent tariff on volumes above those limits to protect domestic producers from a surge in Chinese steel, reports @ft. ft.com/content/3b82ca…

U.S. and Mexico launched USMCA technical discussions on March 19, addressing supply chain gaps and exploring policy options such as stronger economic security cooperation, rules of origin, and complementary trade measures, per @USTreasury. ustr.gov/about/policy-o…

India, Thailand, and the Philippines are among Asian governments scrambling to secure Russian oil after the U.S. temporarily relaxed sanctions to offset supply disruptions from the Middle East. Read more @NikkeiAsia. asia.nikkei.com/spotlight/iran…

On Wednesday, March 18, the U.S. Treasury Department relaxed sanctions on Venezuelan oil with certain restrictions as part of the Trump administration’s effort to increase global supply during the Iran war, writes @AP. apnews.com/article/trump-…

“Iran’s attacks ‌on Qatar have damaged facilities that produce 17% of the company’s liquefied natural gas export capacity ⁠and it will take three to five years to repair them,” says QatarEnergy CEO Saad al-Kaabi in an interview with @reuters. reuters.com/business/energ…

India has initiated an anti-dumping investigation into imports of ethyl chloroformate from China after domestic producer Paushak alleged the chemical was being sold at unfairly low prices, harming local industry, per @reuters. reuters.com/sustainability…

After a vote yesterday, March 17, Paraguay became the fourth and final of the Mercosur founding members to ratify the free trade agreement with the European Union, following Uruguay, Argentina and, Brazil, reports @ap. apnews.com/article/paragu…

The European Commission imposed anti-dumping duties at a rate of 122.8% on Chinese phosphorous acid imports. This follows an investigation which found that the imports were entering the EU at dumped prices, per @EU_Commission. policy.trade.ec.europa.eu/news/commissio…

“We’re having talks separately with Canada, but we we’ve moved along with Mexico. Canada is behind on this with Mexico,” said US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer regarding the status of USMCA negotiations. Read more @business. bloomberg.com/news/articles/…

Nvidia is resuming production of H200 AI chips for sale to China after securing U.S. government approvals and receiving Chinese customer orders in the past two weeks, reports @ft. ft.com/content/a88719…

New Trade Guys Episode: Victor Cha joins the show to discuss a series of cases from his new book, China's Weaponization of Trade, which examines how the US and China have deployed economic coercion, focusing on China’s extensive use over the past 30 years. csis.org/podcasts/trade…

The Securities and Exchange Commission is drafting a proposal to remove quarterly earnings reporting requirements for publicly traded U.S. companies, giving them the option to report results semi-annually, per @wsj. wsj.com/finance/regula…

According to World Bank economists, developing economies rely more heavily on industrial policy than high income countries, with low-income nations targeting about 13 industries on average, more than double the number in wealthier states, reports @reuters. reuters.com/world/asia-pac…

The Trump administration is pressing the World Trade Organization to make the “moratorium on customs duties on electronic transmissions”, an international ban on tariffs on ecommerce, permanent in the upcoming WTO ministerial conference, per @business bloomberg.com/news/articles/…

“This will mark yet another milestone in diversifying Europe’s international partnerships,” said European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen as the EU looks to finalize a free trade deal with Australia, writes @business. bloomberg.com/news/articles/…

Industry analysts estimated that Gulf producers are losing $400 million to $640 million per day due to disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz during the US Israeli war with Iran, with total losses arriving at over $15 billion, per @ft. ft.com/content/f0b629…

In his weekly column, Bill Reinsch analyzes the impact of the war on Iran on energy supply chains, foreign investment, and global manufacturing. Read more here: csis.org/analysis/abrac…

U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer discussed establishing a “U.S. China Board of Trade” at the upcoming Trump Xi meeting to formalize and identify lists of imports and exports that would ensure mutual benefit, reports @nytimes. nytimes.com/2026/03/16/us/…

Several U.S. trading partners, including the EU, South Korea, and Taiwan, are urging President Trump to maintain the previously agreed tariff levels after his administration launched Section 301 investigations last week, writes @WSJ. wsj.com/economy/trade/…