Trump's 'America first' trade policy ignores lessons from Great Depression

Unfortunately, America's top economic position does not shield it from the dire consequences that unilateral trade policy can provoke

President Donald Trump declared his nearly two-week trip through Asia “tremendously successful,” but economic history should make us more skeptical.

During the trip, the president continued to promote his so-called “America first” trade policy. He is orienting the country distinctly toward protectionism and claiming that unilateralism in trade is good for America.

Here is the problem: President Trump’s approach to trade seems to be based on a false understanding of how the global economy works, one that also plagued American policymakers nearly a century ago. The administration has forgotten an important lesson of