Donald Trump is often seen as a radical departure from the neoliberalism that has shaped recent American history and, at first glance, nowhere does this seem truer than on trade. Trump’s support for protectionism certainly seems to depart from neoliberalism, which we are used to thinking of as involving unqualified support for free trade. But should this really be seen as a departure? This paper argues that, instead, Trump’s trade policy should be seen a kind of ‘neoliberal protectionism’, which seeks to use the coercive power of the state to force other nations to conform to a market‐based economic logic. The origins of this neoliberal protectionism can be traced back to the 1980s when debates about foreign industrial policies first caused the United States to adopt a more aggressive approach to trade. From this perspective, Trump’s trade policy represents not a rejection of neoliberalism but an extreme articulation of it.
Supporters of Donald Trump often frame his protectionist policies as part of a venerable economic nationalist tradition. This paper examines the process which allowed this historical narrative to form. Examining the history of U.S. economic nationalism, it argues that during the nineteenth century, that tradition became increasingly defined by ‘tariff fixation’, an emphasis on high tariffs to the exclusion of other more effective means for supporting national development. This led the reduction of high tariffs after the 1930s to be viewed as a ‘great betrayal’ of the United States, a narrative that has been of great use to contemporary right‐wing populists.
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