Date of Award

5-2022

Document Type

Honors Thesis

Degree Name

International Relations, BA

School

CAS

Department

Political Science and Legal Studies

Faculty Advisor

Professor Michal Ben-Josef Hirsch

Abstract

As talks of unprecedented inflation and the long-term impact of the pandemic are on the rise in the United States, it is critical to understand how the foreign policy choices of the US Government ultimately impact its economy. This paper aims to evaluate the impact of the economic tensions between the US and China as a result of the ongoing US-China Trade War. To examine the viability of proposed options, a cost-benefit analysis of Biden’s policy options is implemented based on a framework of escalation, de-escalation, or modification of the current US-China economic policy initiative. The analysis of these proposals is rooted in overarching foreign policy objectives of the United States such as: the encouragement of economic prosperity in the domestic sphere, improvements in quality of life for the American people, and the maintenance of US leadership and credibility on a global scale. Ultimately, the best choice for the Biden administration is to move towards eventual, but not imminent de-escalation through the strategy of policy modification. The most optimal policy recommendation that adequately takes into account US priorities and responsibilities is the modification of trade strategies and adherence to the tariff status quo. While this strategy would be at the expense of the opportunity to enhance economic growth, it is more critical at the present to maintain the current balance of power between the US and China.

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International License.

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