May 25, 2018
Trump Has No Idea How Diplomatic Deals Work
Earlier this week, the New York Times ran a remarkable story explaining all of the ways in which the Trump administration botched its high-stakes trade negotiations with China. I am not an expert on China and don’t know that much about trade, but I do know a little something about diplomatic negotiations. I was part of the team led by then-U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry that tried and failed to negotiate peace between Israelis and Palestinians from 2013 to 2014, and though I was not on the team that negotiated the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action with Iran, I was part of the small interagency group that worked on this issue in the years before negotiations got serious and watched them very closely throughout.
Based on these experiences, what was stunning to learn about the China trade negotiations was how at every step of the way, U.S. President Donald Trump’s economic team did precisely the wrong thing. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, Director of Trade and Industrial Policy Peter Navarro, Chief Economic Advisor Larry Kudlow, and Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross executed a textbook case study in how to not conduct international negotiations.
Read the Full Article at Foreign Policy
More from CNAS
-
Sharper: Middle East
Commentary
President Biden’s recent Middle East tour was vital in presenting U.S. foreign policy in the region. Other geopolitical developments including the killing of al Qaeda leader A...
By Anna Pederson, John O'Malley & Arona Baigal
-
Richard Fontaine discusses Pelosi trip to Taiwan
Video
Richard Fontaine joins BBC World News to discuss U.S. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi's recent trip to Taiwan amid tensions with China. Watch the full interview from BBC....
By Richard Fontaine
-
Want more capable military partners? Empower and promote Foreign Area Officers.
Commentary
When defense ministries in need of reform are left to their own devices, institutional weakness and corruption ultimately produces hollow armies....
By Jonathan Lord
-
Legacies of Repression in Egypt and Tunisia: Authoritarianism, Political Mobilization, and Founding Elections
About the Book: When an authoritarian regime collapses, what determines whether an opposition group will form a political party, be successful in mobilizing voters, and surviv...
By Alanna C. Torres-Van Antwerp
