Maxwell School News and Commentary

"Yes, we are now in a trade war," says Professor of Economics Mary Lovely. "The two sides are no longer engaged in productive talks to defuse tensions," she adds.

These new tariffs will “almost surely not” cause a recession, says Mary Lovely, professor of economics. “This industry is important but it’s not that important. Costs will rise. We’ll see some job dislocation…but we will not see a recession,” she adds.

"We've come to expect this type of ebb and flow in terms of the threat of levying trade protections against our trading partners from this administration," says Mary Lovely, professor of economics.

Professor Emeritus William C. Banks says that the recently released meeting transcripts between the Trump campaign and Russian lawyers corroborated what was already known, that "the Russians did attempt to influence the election, and they attempted to do so in favor of the candidate Donald Trump, who they hoped would win."

"The proposed tariffs will hit bilateral trade in fast-growing, knowledge-based sectors the hardest," say Mary Lovely, professor of economics, and Yang Liang, a Ph.D. candidate in economics. "Rather than hitting the administration’s intended target—Chinese firms that may have unfairly obtained American technology—the proposed tariffs would actually inflict damage on U.S. high-technology sectors."

"There's a Justice Department regulation that says that the independent council special prosecutor can only be dismissed for cause for misfeasance in office. Certainly, Mueller can't be reasonably accused of that," says William C. Banks, professor of public administration and international affairs.

Discussions between public and private entities will ultimately come down to how profitable a deal is in light of the changes, says David M. Van Slyke, dean of the Maxwell School. The requirement for master development plans will probably lead to better-managed projects, he adds.

"Going after these records will provide more details about relationship of any Russian financial interests and any Trump business ties," analyzes William C. Banks, professor of public administration and international affairs. 

"If the facts are read, the FBI was balanced in making its request to the FISA court, as they always have been," says Professor Emeritus William C. Banks.