The Brian Lehrer Show Balancing Global Trade
Dec 8, 2025
Oren Cass is the founder and chief economist of American Compass and a contributing writer known for his thoughts on trade policy. He argues for a balanced approach to global trade, reflecting on past strategies like Cold War containment versus postwar hegemony. Cass critiques the consequences of integrating China into the global economy, exploring overlapping concerns about deindustrialization from both conservative and left perspectives. He emphasizes the importance of clear long-term goals for tariffs, advocating for a reciprocity-based alliance to strengthen U.S. trade and national security.
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Benevolent Hegemony Has Run Its Course
- The post–Cold War strategy of benevolent hegemony has become unsustainable and costly for the U.S..
- Oren Cass argues the benefits have fallen while costs rose, leaving the U.S. unable to bear the old model anymore.
Trade With China Didn’t Democratize It
- Embracing China economically did not produce liberal democracy and instead aided China's rise as a strategic competitor.
- Cass says trade integration hollowed out U.S. industry while the U.S. paid growing security and nation-building costs.
Labor Concerns Bridge Left And Right
- Left critiques split between global exploitation concerns and labor-focused worries about a race to the bottom.
- Cass notes the labor critique aligns with a new conservative focus on protecting American workers and communities.
