Surge in Pharmaceutical Imports Threatens U.S. National Security as India/China Dominance Grows

KEY POINTS U.S. pharmaceutical imports have risen sharply in the last decade, with imports from China and India skyrocketing. India and China are increasingly the leading U.S. source for generic pharmaceuticals, which account for 91% of all prescriptions written in the U.S. China and India account for 57.6% of total pharmaceutical imports by weight last…

Economic View: The Coming Solar Apocalypse…and How to Prevent It

Key Points With 86 Gigawatts of planned solar module capacity and some 30 Gigawatts of imports, the U.S. market faces huge oversupply of solar modules. This will force many U.S. producers out of business, leaving the Chinese-owned U.S. facilities as the last man standing. Today, with optimism at its height, Chinese-owned facilities are building more…

CPA Improves Leading Trade Model to Reflect Real-World Effects of Trade

Key Points The standard widely-used trade model, GTAP, has been wrong in its forecasts of every major U.S. trade agreement. CPA economists have modified the model to allow it to show more realistically the effects of trade policy on employment and the entire economy. Our modified GTAP model, GTAP-FP, finds that import restriction or policies…

What are the Best Tariffs for the U.S.? Economists Say: From 14% to 60%

What is the difference between an undergraduate international trade economics class and a graduate-level class? The difference is that in an undergraduate economics class they teach you that the ideal level of tariffs for any country is zero. Free trade rules! But in a graduate-level class, they teach you that tariffs can help a nation…

Model Shows that Universal 10% Tariff Would Improve Incomes, Output and Jobs (Updated)

Note: This version is updated with results for additional tax revenue and a retaliation scenario. Key Points CPA modeled former President Trump’s recent proposal regarding a 10% universal tariff. Our simulation finds that the tariff change would increase economic growth and create opportunity for Americans through increasing incomes and job creation. Under the proposal, real…