March 03, 2025

Edward Fishman: How the U.S. Turned the Global Financial System into a Potent Weapon of War

In the last two decades, a new form of economic warfare has emerged, pioneered by officials from the George W. Bush era, who transformed the global financial system into a potent weapon against their adversaries. The key was leveraging economic resources that the US dominates–such as the US dollar–to exert pressure on adversaries. Tariffs, though not traditionally considered a tool of economic warfare, have historically been used for economic reasons, such as securing reciprocal trade agreements or protecting domestic industries from foreign competition. Trump, however, has so far treated them as a catch-all solution for all sorts of issues, including the migrant crisis. “He’s trying to use tariffs as this cure-all, almost like a magic bullet to solve every possible problem,” says Edward Fishman, an adjunct senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security. “Tariffs are actually a weak tool if you're using them as a national security weapon.”

Watch the full episode on MSNBC.

  • Podcast
    • March 21, 2025
    How America Wages Economic Warfare with Eddie Fishman

    The last two decades have marked a revolution in economic warfare. As the United States has increasingly sought to weaponize the global economy against its adversaries, the wo...

    By Andrea Kendall-Taylor, Jim Townsend & Edward Fishman

  • Podcast
    • March 18, 2025
    Why Financial Warfare Could Backfire on the U.S.: Podcast

    Washington has sharpened the dollar and technology into powerful weapons. Now erstwhile allies fear they are targets. In this episode of The Big View podcast Edward Fishman, t...

    By Edward Fishman

  • Commentary
    • Lawfare
    • March 17, 2025
    A Primer on 21st-Century Economic Weapons

    As the economic statecraft vision of the second Trump administration begins to take shape, “Chokepoints” serves as an essential guide for some of the key battles in U.S. econo...

    By Alex Zerden

  • Podcast
    • March 13, 2025
    Trump’s Trade War w/ Canada Is Just Getting Started!" | Edward Fishman PT 2

    In the second part of this enlightening episode with Edward Fishman, the focus shifts to the broader implications of economic warfare in today's geopolitical climate. Edward a...

    By Edward Fishman

View All Reports View All Articles & Multimedia