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In this scenario, might America thereby lose a broader war for America’s freedom and prosperity, not by shots fired but by American cash registers ringing up “Made in China” products? Might America even lose a broader hot war because it sent its defense industrial base abroad on the wings of a persistent trade deficit? It follows that for both economic and national security reasons, trade deficits do indeed matter. It is therefore of critical importance that we bring America’s global trade back into balance through free, fair, balanced, and reciprocal trade and that we do so through the kind of policy initiatives and reforms recommended in this chapter.

PERSONNEL IS TRADE POLICY

Having a clear set of trade and industrial policies to achieve one’s economic and national security goals, while essential, is not enough. The lessons of the Nixon, Reagan, and Trump Administrations teach us that “personnel is policy” or, in this case, that “bad personnel will mean bad trade policy.”®? That is why it will be equally critical to the next President’s trade policy agenda to have key personnel in place who not only have the skills to implement the policies, but also have the firm commitment to do so.

During the Trump Administration, President Trump’s key policy advisers and Cabinet officials clashed on the issues of international trade and combating Communist China’s economic aggression. As much as President Trump did on the trade front that was bold and innovative and as much as he achieved by challenging Communist China, too much of his trade policy was disrupted or derailed by key personnel who did not share the President’s vision of fair, balanced, and reciprocal trade.

In thinking about the personnel positions that are most essential to effective implementation of trade policy, the most obvious position to get exactly right is that of the United States Trade Representative. The USTR is at least putatively the top official on trade policy, and it is critical that this position be filled wisely.

Historically, during Republican Administrations, the USTR has been a free trader who rarely challenged the protectionist and mercantilist policies of America’s trading partners and typically would seek to expand global trade. The Trump Administration broke this globalist Republican tradition by appointing as USTR attorney Robert E. Lighthizer, who not only had a keen understanding of the various legal levers a President can use to advance trade policy, but also was committed to the President’s fair, balanced, and reciprocal trade agenda. The next Administration should make every effort to find someone with that understanding and that commitment to fill this position.

Less obvious—but almost as important—is the need to fill the position of Under Secretary of Commerce for International Trade wisely. One of the most important functions of the International Trade Administration, which is an agency in the Department of Commerce, is to impose antidumping and countervailing duties