November 03, 2026

Getting U.S. Trade Deals To Spur Economic Security Co-Operation

By: Geoffrey Gertz

This article was originally published in fDi Intelligence.

Of the many changes the Donald Trump administration has brought to US trade policy, the one that might ultimately have the most staying power is the integration of economic security commitments into trade deals.

Washington claims to have struck around 20 tariff deals since last year. However, only 10 of these have the more formal status of Agreements on Reciprocal Trade, all of which include a dedicated section on economic security.

One lesson is that simply writing a binding promise to align with US economic security measures into a trade deal provides no guarantee of on-the-ground policy alignment.

These commit the foreign governments to co-operating with the US on the likes of export controls, investment security and sanctions. Although not stated explicitly, such commitments are primarily aimed at countering economic and security threats from China.

But will these novel inclusions in US trade agreements actually shift governments’ behaviour? The results so far are mixed, and provide valuable lessons on how US trade leverage might best be used to advance economic security objectives.

Read the full article in fDi Intelligence.

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