Trade between the United States and China collapsed in 2025, affecting U.S. farmers, manufacturers, and consumers. Since early 2025, both sides engaged in an economic tit for tat, raising tariffs and introducing export controls. The new trade barriers, combined with earlier trade restrictions, had a wide-ranging impact on the U.S. economy, costing billions in trade and lost jobs. While economic relations between the two countries have stabilized, U.S.-China trade has changed. To help consumers and businesses navigate this challenging environment, Dr. Chad Bown joined us on March 20, 2026 to discuss the impact of declining U.S.-China trade and how businesses are adapting.
Interested in learning more? Check out Dr. Bown’s upcoming book How to Win a Trade War, co-authored with Soumaya Keynes.
Chad Bown
Chad P. Bown joined the Peterson Institute for International Economics as a senior fellow in April 2016 and has been the Reginald Jones Senior Fellow since March 2018. He was on leave for public service as chief economist at the U.S. Department of State in the Biden-Harris administration from January 2024 until January 2025. His research examines the political economy of international trade policy, industrial policy, economic security, supply chains, and trade agreements.
Bown previously served as senior economist for international trade and investment in the White House on President Obama’s Council of Economic Advisers from 2010 to 2011. He was also a lead economist at the World Bank, conducting research and advising developing country governments on international trade policy for seven years. Bown was a tenured professor of economics at Brandeis University, where he held a joint appointment in the Department of Economics and International Business School for 12 years. He has also spent a year in residence as a visiting scholar in economic research at the World Trade Organization (WTO) Secretariat in Geneva.