Corporate profits grew by double and sometimes triple digits during the COVID-19 pandemic. Worker wages did not.
By Amanda Mayoral The U.S. is lagging behind China and the European Union in production of lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles. Forecasts show the U.S. will fall further behind China by 2025 and remain dependent on imports for more than half of its EV battery needs. This CPA Policy Paper by CPA Economist Amanda…
Press reports say that Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen is arguing for repealing a broad set of U.S. tariffs, allegedly as a way to fight inflation. Her argument is said to rely on a set of reports[1] published in March by the Peterson Institute that claimed that cutting tariffs would cut 1.3 percentage points off the…
By Amanda Mayoral Summary Global supply-chain crises, over-dependence on foreign production and government stimulus best explain the current inflation problem. Policy makers should learn from current crises and enact policies to reduce our strong dependence on unreliable foreign suppliers. Tariffs can cause a one-time rise in prices, but they don’t cause persistent month-after-month…
P&O Ferries is the largest operator of ferryboats between the British Isles and the European Continent, a $1.1 billion company carrying 10 million passengers a year. Two weeks ago, on March 24, P&O shocked its 800 employees by firing all of them. But it was less what it did than how it did it. On…
Summary Sanctions on Russia are devastating to the Russian economy Power of the sanctions is due to concerted international action, not to the US role as world’s “reserve currency” U.S. economic power owes more to the size of U.S. economy than to dollar’s reserve status Dollar overvaluation continues to be a huge problem for U.S.…
War in Ukraine Highlights Critical US Dependencies on Russia-China Axis By Jeff Ferry and Amanda Mayoral Summary Points The Russian invasion of Ukraine reveals the weakness of US industrial strategy and our over-reliance on imports in manufactured goods and raw materials. The US is import-dependent in many industries critical to US national security. A…
With consumer price inflation (CPI) running at 6.8% as of November 2021, many importers are trying to use inflation as an excuse for repealing the tariffs enacted by former President Donald Trump and continued by President Joe Biden. This is special interest pleading and bad economics. A close look at the state of the U.S.…
U.S. Trade Policy: Over Half a Century of Unreciprocated Tariff Cuts By Amanda Mayoral, CPA Economist Summary Points: The US held high tariff rates from 1816 until the middle of the 20th century The US then cut tariffs more than most countries, often unilaterally, without also requiring tariff reductions by others Today, the US has…
Not All Tariffs Are the Same: A Case to Consider Optimal Tariff Policy By Amanda Mayoral, CPA Economist Summary Points: Despite popular misconception, economic theory has long suggested that tariffs can benefit a country, particularly one like the US. The most advantageous tariffs are optimal tariffs. This is because optimal tariffs balance the…
