Not long after the yellow vest movement called attention to the resurgence of populism, strikes and demonstrations over pension reforms have disrupted France. Across Europe, long-popular social democratic parties are losing power in the face of economic discontent, distrust of institutions, and anxiety about globalization. Similar sentiments have shaken up politics in the United States.   In this episode of Dollar & Sense, David Dollar is joined by Célia Belin, a visiting fellow in the Center on the United States and Europe at Brookings. They look at the factors driving the rise of populism across the EU, the U.K., and the U.S. and discuss what it could mean for trade and globalization.   Dollar and Sense is a part of the Brookings Podcast Network.

The U.S. and China recently signed what's being called "phase one" of a trade agreement, rolling back some tariffs on Chinese goods in exchange for China promising increased purchases of U.S. goods and services. David Dollar breaks down the details of the new deal, including China's commitments on intellectual property rights and technology transfers, whether the U.S. can increase production to meet those export goals, and the likelihood of any further concessions anytime soon. Subscribe to Brookings podcasts here or on Apple Podcasts, send feedback email to BCP@Brookings.edu, and follow us and tweet us at @policypodcasts on Twitter. Dollar and Sense is a part of the Brookings Podcast Network.

Last month, Saudi Arabia sold about 1.5% of Saudi Aramco, a government-owned oil company, in an in an initial public offering (IPO). Shares have been sold on the Tadawul, Saudi Arabia’s stock exchange, and while the IPO has valued Aramco at $1.7 trillion, its performance was disappointing overall. To discuss the Aramco IPO and other developments in the global oil market, David Dollar is joined by Samantha Gross, a fellow in the Foreign Policy program at Brookings and Energy Security and Climate Initiative. Their conversation covers Saudi Arabia’s efforts to diversify its economy, long-term trends in oil production and demand, and how the recent killing of Iranian Maj. Gen. Qassem Soleimani could affect markets. Subscribe to Brookings podcasts here or on Apple Podcasts, send feedback email to BCP@Brookings.edu, and follow us and tweet us at @policypodcasts on Twitter. Dollar and Sense is a part of the Brookings Podcast Network.

Senator Pat Toomey (R-PA) has been an outspoken advocate of free trade and a critic of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), which recently passed in the House of Representatives. In this episode of Dollar & Sense, he joins host David Dollar to explain why. Sen. Toomey explains where he believes reforms to NAFTA are needed and why the USMCA falls short — with a focus on domestic content requirements, investor protections, and intellectual property rights. He also discusses the first phase of a trade deal with China and his proposed legislation to reform Section 232 of the Trade Security Act.   Subscribe to Brookings podcasts here or on Apple Podcasts, send feedback email to BCP@Brookings.edu, and follow us and tweet us at @policypodcasts on Twitter. Dollar and Sense is a part of the Brookings Podcast Network.

China faces criticism from many who perceive its actions as adversarial to the global economic order. At the same time, globalization helped lift 800 million Chinese out of poverty. What can we glean about Beijing’s approach to that order? Wang Huiyao, the founder and director of Center for China and Globalization, joins host David Dollar to discuss China’s economic development over recent decades and its evolving role in multilateral organizations like the World Bank, Asian Development Bank, and World Trade Organization. Their conversation also touches on Washington’s criticisms of Chinese trade practices today, how they affect the U.S.-China trade war, and the prospects of China making meaningful reforms. Subscribe to Brookings podcasts here or on Apple Podcasts, send feedback email to BCP@Brookings.edu, and follow us and tweet us at @policypodcasts on Twitter. Dollar and Sense is a part of the Brookings Podcast Network.

On the first episode of the Dollar & Sense podcast, released one year ago this week, Brookings Senior Fellows Eswar Prasad and David Dollar discussed the United States’ concerns with Chinese trade practices, including access to markets and intellectual property rights, that are at the root of the U.S.-China trade war. Prasad rejoins Dollar to reflect on what change has occurred in the past year – from recent developments in bilateral trade negotiations, to China’s domestic economic reforms and the strength of the Chinese economy.   Subscribe to Brookings podcasts here or on Apple Podcasts, send feedback email to BCP@Brookings.edu, and follow us and tweet us at @policypodcasts on Twitter. Dollar and Sense is a part of the Brookings Podcast Network.

Mark Sobel, the U.S. chairman of the Official Monetary and Financial Institutions Forum, joins Senior Fellow David Dollar to discuss contemporary issues in the international monetary system, including the strength of the dollar and what role a currency agreement could play in a U.S.-China trade deal. Sobel, who served as the U.S. representative at the International Monetary Fund, also offers his perspective on the challenges the IMF faces in trying to police currency manipulation, debates over how to fund the IMF, and whether the Fund has enough resources to adequately respond to a future economic crisis.   Subscribe to Brookings podcasts here or on Apple Podcasts, send feedback email to BCP@Brookings.edu, and follow us and tweet us at @policypodcasts on Twitter.   Dollar and Sense is a part of the Brookings Podcast Network.

Ohio Senator Rob Portman has been involved in shaping American trade policy throughout his career, from his role as the United States Trade Representative to position on the Senate Finance Committee. Today, he speaks with Brookings Senior Fellow David Dollar about the state of the U.S. trade relations with Mexico, Canada, and China, and the importance of enforcing fair trading norms around the world. Portman explains why he believes the proposed United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement (USMCA) is an improvement to NAFTA, emphasizing the need to update trade agreements to include issues like digital trade and labor enforcement, and the likelihood the agreement is passed by Congress. Later, Portman and Dollar discuss the future of the U.S. economic relationship with China and structural obstacles that stand in the way of a meaningful U.S.-China trade deal. Subscribe to Brookings podcasts here or on Apple Podcasts, send feedback email to BCP@Brookings.edu, and follow us and tweet us at @policypodcasts on Twitter. Dollar and Sense is a part of the Brookings Podcast Network.

Following the September 11th terrorist attacks in 2001, the United States developed a powerful set of sanctions aimed at restricting the financing of terrorist activities. While those tools were initially targeted at organizations like al-Qaida and later ISIS, they have also been applied to rogue states like Iran and North Korea. In this episode of Dollar & Sense, David Dollar is joined by Michael Greenwald, a fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School’s Belfer Center who helped design sanctions programs at the U.S. Treasury, to discuss the effectiveness of these tools and why they need to be updated for an era of great power competition. Subscribe to Brookings podcasts here or on Apple Podcasts, send feedback email to BCP@Brookings.edu, and follow us and tweet us at @policypodcasts on Twitter. Dollar and Sense is a part of the Brookings Podcast Network.

In this episode of Dollar & Sense, Senior Fellow David Dollar is in Hanoi, Vietnam to interview Madame Pham Chi Lan, the former secretary general of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry, about the reforms that underpinned Vietnam’s economic revolution. Dollar and Madam Lan discuss how Vietnam opened itself to foreign trade and direct investment, the rise of the country’s private sector, and the repercussions of the U.S.-China trade war. Subscribe to Brookings podcasts here or on Apple Podcasts, send feedback email to BCP@Brookings.edu, and follow us and tweet us at @policypodcasts on Twitter. Dollar and Sense is a part of the Brookings Podcast Network.