In the News: Mary E. Lovely

According to Mary Lovely, professor of economics, China's leadership is "looking for friends everywhere." And with France being an important player in Europe, "they're also looking to continue to diversify their portfolio in terms of where they do business and how they do business," she says.

"Many men believe they themselves are not part of the problem, yet they continue to organize sessions without any women authors or discussants," says Mary Lovely, professor of economics. "And I still am present at meetings where women's views are heard and then trivialized." 

According to Professor of Economics Mary Lovely, "this is not a negotiating tactic. Trump is a true believer...He wrongly believes tariffs will help the U.S. auto industry."

"The economy has changed a lot since 1888 and in particular, when we think about who bears the burden of tariffs, we have to recognize the development of very complex supply chains for American companies," says Professor of Economics Mary Lovely. 

"More tariffs and failure to get a deal will ultimately seem to people like further failure of the government," says Mary Lovely, professor of economics.

The magazine leads with a feature on Minnowbrook at 50, where leading public administration scholars and practitioners gathered to address the field's most pressing issues. Historically, each Minnowbrook conference culminated in the publication of books, articles and/or special issues of journals that left a lasting impression on scholars around the world.

"Both sides are finding out that trade wars are painful," says Mary Lovely, professor of economics. "The Chinese economy is slowing. ...Foreign investment into the U.S. is down, and there is concern about domestic investment moving forward."

Mary Lovely, professor of economics, notes that some Chinese goods have no alternative sourcing, and even when workarounds from other countries are available, they are often not perfect substitutes and lead to higher pricing for U.S. companies.

"It’s not going to put any of these banks in a good place to have these two big countries duking it out in the midst of their lending programmes," says Mary Lovely, professor of economics.

According to Mary Lovely, professor of economics, the decline in imports subject to tariffs could also be due to a slowdown in frontloading, or companies rushing orders to avoid duties.

Professor of Economics Mary Lovely argues that Trump’s trade actions "are a prime example of 20th-century tools aimed at the knowledge-embodying trade flows of the 21st century."

"People who shop at Walmart or Target are going to be hit harder than people who buy their toaster ovens from Williams Sonoma or can afford to get products from a higher-income country," says Mary Lovely, professor of economics.

"Trade policy does have an impact because it raised costs significantly for steel and aluminum, and the industry told Trump it would do that," says Mary Lovely, professor of economics. "They already weren’t able to sell enough vehicles to keep these lines productive and raising costs by a billion dollars? It doesn’t help."

According to Mary Lovely, professor of economics, the rules around Made in America labeling can be confusing, and companies can violate them without realizing it. "There are rules, and companies—even if they’re trying to abide by them—may find them complicated, so issuing a cease and desist, it might not be unreasonable."

"The president looks at this [foreign tariffs] and says it's coming from foreigners," says Mary Lovely, professor of economics. "That's not technically correct. I mean, I go to Macy's and pay a sales tax. Macy's is the one that sends the check to the government, but that doesn't mean they're the ones that pay the tax. I am."

"So there's a great deal of uncertainty and firms are really in doubt as to what they should do because moving the supply chain is costly. Before you want to do that, you want to make sure that it's something that you really need to do," says Mary Lovely. professor of economics.

"I do think we can see a strategy, but that doesn’t mean it’s a good strategy,” says Mary Lovely, professor of economics. "They’re going to use these bilateral deals to strong-arm countries into lining up behind the U.S. on China. But when we get there, what’s the next step? I don’t know what the endgame is."