Biden should prioritize reversing Trump's trade policies: economist

WASHINGTON - Reversing the previous US government's trade policies should be a top priority for Joe Biden's administration, US economist Anne O. Krueger said in an opinion piece published Monday on Project Syndicate.

Krueger, who is also former World Bank chief economist and former first deputy managing director of the International Monetary Fund, believed that former President Donald Trump's protectionist impulses have polluted the United States' ties with China and international organizations, and have shaken both America's friends and allies.

"Trump's trade policies were not only a disaster for the United States and world trade; they also have made it more difficult for the United States to achieve a broader range of economic and foreign-policy goals," she said.

Taken together, these policies have done serious damage to America's standing in the world, she added.

"Efforts to protect domestic industries are a sign of weakness, not strength," she noted, warning against continuing the last administration's trade policies, which are "a recipe for failure".

If the Biden administration wants to achieve its stated goals, it will remove Trump's protectionist measures, work multilaterally, strengthen US infrastructure, invest in workforce skills and education, and expand America's research capabilities, Krueger said.