Lithuanian Annual Strategic Review

Since 2016, the Trump administration has announced a series of protectionist measures: it suspended or reviewed the US participation in free trade agreements, taxing some imports, restricting foreign access to high-tech sector, and so on. Trump’s international economic policy has provoked debate in the US and around the world. Critics rushed to state that Trump was leading the US into international isolation, which could in turn lead to a global economic downturn. Foreign countries have also joined the ranks of Trump critics. China said it would resist protectionism and fight for free trade, while the longtime US allies France, Germany and Britain had to admit that the transatlantic community was going through difficult times. This article seeks to answer two questions: why has the US President administration been pursuing protectionist international economic policy and how does this policy affect transatlantic relations and Lithuania’s international position?