Foreign Policy for the Middle Class, Explained

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The Biden administration has made it a point to focus on investing in the middle class—even when considering foreign policy and trade. The White House has poured money into initiatives such as the Inflation Reduction Act and the CHIPS and Science Act to encourage domestic production and job creation. As a member of Biden’s Council of Economic Advisers and chief economist of his Invest in America Cabinet, Heather Boushey is one of the primary intellectual architects of the U.S. approach to inequality, growth, and job creation.

Is Washington’s turn toward industrial policy working as planned?

Boushey joined FP’s Ravi Agrawal for a wide-ranging discussion on the U.S. economy.

Video clips from this event

  • Boushey refutes critiques that Bidenomics is trying to do too much by tying infrastructure investments to childcare and workers rights, saying instead that it is offering U.S. companies best-in-class practices. For the full back and forth between Biden’s chief economic advisor and FP Live host Ravi Agrawal, watch the interview.

  • Watch Boushey, U.S. President Joe Biden’s chief economic advisor, defend the CHIPS and Science Act against the criticism that it is encouraging protectionism.  

  • Biden’s chief economist says that the United States is not looking to stop trade with China but rethinking how U.S. trade policies could benefit American workers. 

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FP Live: The Ask-Me-Anything Edition

On a special ask-me-anything episode, regular host Ravi Agrawal will take stock of a world at war. What does the Iran conflict mean for the global economy or traditional alliances? More than a year into U.S. President Donald Trump’s second term, how are world leaders navigating his leadership? And what of the U.S.-China relationship? FP Live’s executive producer, Dana Sherne, turned the tables on Agrawal, taking questions from FP subscribers and viewers alike.

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Will the War Slow Global Growth?

The war in Iran and the subsequent oil price shock have “abruptly darkened” the prognosis for global growth. That’s from a new report by the International Monetary Fund, which warns that the world could fall into a recession if the energy crisis continues. Is this the shock that finally tips a fracturing system? And how should countries prepare? Gita Gopinath, a Harvard economist who was formerly second in command at the IMF, joined FP Live to game out the repercussions for the global economy.

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What’s Next for Iran?

With the cease-fire extended and the negotiations ongoing, the shape of a postwar Iranian regime is already beginning to emerge. The Islamic Republic seems to be emerging from the conflict simultaneously weakened and emboldened. How is its new leadership plotting its own future? Can Iran absorb more strikes amid a blockade of its ports? Karim Sadjadpour, a leading expert on Iran, joined FP Live to assess the regime’s staying power and what a postwar Islamic Republic means for the wider region.

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Is America a Rogue State?

Has the United States become a rogue state? FP columnist Stephen Walt certainly thinks so, arguing that the White House is using “positions of leverage built up over decades to exploit allies and adversaries alike.” And the war in Iran, he writes, “underscores that the administration either didn’t understand how its actions would affect other states or simply didn’t care.” If Walt is right, what does it mean for the future of global order? Join FP Live for a discussion about recent U.S. foreign policy and how the world is adapting to the Trump era. 

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