The aim of SIEL Conversations is to bring together authors and commentators to give talks that are idea-focused so as to foster learning and inspiration, and provoke conversations that matter. Each SIEL Conversation will last approximately one hour and will include commentary from the speakers, with questions from the public.
Title: The Second Tariff War and the International Trade Regime
The diagnosis is almost unanimous by now. Donald Trump’s proclamation of country-specific tariffs on 2 April 2025 marks a pivotal change in the global trade regime, smashing, as far as the United States is concerned, the Most-Favoured Nation principle that has been a pillar of multilateral trade relations since 1947. The imposition of counter-tariffs by China and the European Union, following Canada’s earlier this year, suggests that we are entering a Second Tariff War, this time on a global scale. The new Trump Tariffs will affect not only companies and individuals in the United States and its large economic competitors but, possibly most seriously, cripple smaller economies that happened to have a trade surplus with the United States in 2024.
In this SIEL Conversation, panelists examine and discuss the implications of Trump’s tariffs proclamation, as well as of announced countermeasures. They assess the effects of the Second Tariff War on companies, other countries, and the world economy more broadly. And they discuss the prospects for the reconfiguration of global economic relations – as well as the roles that international trade law is likely to play in this new reality.
Discussants:
- James Thuo Gathii, Professor, Loyola University Chicago School of Law
- Simon Schropp, Director, Berkeley Research Group (BRG)
- Anna Jerzewska, Founder, Trade & Borders
- Joel Trachtman, Professor, The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy
Moderator:
-
Iana Dreyer, Founder and Editor, Borderlex
You can access the recording here.
You can download the below poster, including the event’s description and speakers affiliation here.