Market Pulse: Dancing Dangerously to Trump's Beat

Short-term populist economic policies are increasingly dominating the world. One is protectionism. In his first days in office, US President Donald Trump immediately pulled his country out of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). Trump also invited Mexico and Canada to meet and reassess the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).

Indeed, protectionism benefits firms that enjoy the protection. But in the long run, inefficiencies and hidden costs will emerge, and that will rot the economy from the inside out. This is the danger that has economists and analysts around the world wringing their hands.

January 31, 2017