April 29, 2025 | Foreign Policy
How Trump Could Use Tariffs to Attract Investment
The administration already has a blueprint—and now needs to make it work.
April 29, 2025 | Foreign Policy
How Trump Could Use Tariffs to Attract Investment
The administration already has a blueprint—and now needs to make it work.
Excerpt
The steep tariffs announced by U.S. President Donald Trump on April 2 rattled stock markets, redirected capital flows out of the dollar, and created doubt in the future attractiveness of the United States as a destination for investment. They also raised serious concerns that U.S. adversaries could double down on their efforts to displace the United States from the center of the global economic order.
The 90-day pause for most of the tariffs—except those against China—now gives the White House a golden opportunity to negotiate new trade and investment deals with friendly countries. These should go beyond the simple tariffs question and also make investment in the United States—especially in technology and manufacturing—easier and more attractive. The end goal should be to create a new alliance of capital that isolates China and other U.S. adversaries.
Juan Zarate is the chairman of the Center on Economic and Financial Power at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies where Elaine Dezenski is the senior director.