As the intersection of national security and international trade continues to dominate the headlines, Hamilton Lugar School Associate Professor Sarah Bauerle Danzman has been a leading voice in national and international media, providing expert analysis on the Trump administration’s latest economic maneuvers and the finalization of the TikTok restructuring.
Greenland and tariff threats
On January 21, Bauerle Danzman was cited in La Presse in “Trump lifts his threat of tariffs” (3.43 M. reach). She analyzed the Trump administration’s decision to lift the threat of tariffs following a new framework for an agreement regarding Greenland. The move, which signaled a pivot from aggressive protectionism to strategic negotiation, was described by Bauerle Danzman as "a fundamental break from what we've seen since the end of World War II."
She noted that Trump cares more about the bond market than the stock market, and added, “I also think Trump is testing the limits. And I think the fact that there was so much solidarity among European leaders in Davos, and with Canada as well, probably helped him realize that this wasn’t something he could do without a strong struggle.”
She was quoted the next day in a January 22 Reuters piece, “Will the world cut its $27 trillion ‘long USA’ position?” (35.4M reach). Bauerle Danzman said, “"There's no way to restructure the global economy without a lot of wealth destruction in the process. Everyone knows that, which is why Trump has been able to go so far on his threats."
TikTok
On January 23, Bauerle Danzman was quoted in an ABC news story about the sale of TikTok. In the piece, "What does the finalized TikTok deal mean for what users see on the app?” Bauerle Danzman said, “"Given that the companies and individuals that are a part of the deal have very close ties to the Trump administration, it begs the question of whether we're trading one form of undue state influence for another.”
On January 28, she was featured in Japan’s nikkei.com, “TikTok’s display changes in the US as restrictions on posts related to ICE and Epstein raise doubts.” The article addresses the concerns of TikTok users in the U.S. who complained that posts critical of ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) or those which mention Jeffrey Epstein were being suppressed. Bauerle Danzman said “One of the key issues will be the extent to which TikTok's new operator will 'control' the algorithm based on its own preferences, regulatory concerns or political reasons.”
State capitalism
On January 31, Bauerle Danzman was featured in a Yahoo!finance Bloomberg story, “Who Wins When Washington Plays Favorites?” (42.8M reach) and Bloomberg Television’s “Is the US Moving Toward State Capitalism?” (50K views). She said, “We’re a market-based economy, and the idea is that we want markets to pick winners, not governments. What we’re seeing in the current administration is much more willingness to pick particular winners.” She continued, “The concern is that the more that the U.S. kind of pushes in this direction of picking specific winners – and therefore losers – in industries, is that it distorts markets.”
She noted that as a market-based economy, the U.S. has a long track record of seeing that when market actors are making capital-allocation decisions based on commercial interests. In the long run, she said, “that leads to more innovation, more wealth, more economic development as a whole.” She added that the more the government is involved in individual business decisions, “the more we are breaking that market-based system.”
On the issue of national security concerns of government financial intervention in companies, she said that it is important to have bi-partisan buy-in. “Congress should be part of the discussion in determining strategic priorities, allocating funding. Finally, she said, “How are we going to ensure that the process through which companies are determined to be eligible for these kinds of programs is done in a way that is not about corruption and graft.’”
About Sarah Bauerle Danzman
Sarah Bauerle Danzman is an associate of International Studies at the Hamilton Lugar School and a non-resident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council. She is a leading expert on the political economy of international investment. Her work frequently explores how governments manage the tension between the benefits of open markets and the necessity of national security.