A lot of stakeholders have been unsettled by President Trump's wild swings on tariffs.

Economic rivals like China, sure, the many U.S. businesses that use or sell imported goods or export their products to overseas buyers whose governments are responding to new American tariffs with levies to match.

And of course, all of us who can't afford to absorb sudden spikes in the price of the stuff we buy.

Which is not to say that U.S. trade policy wasn't due for a serious overhaul.

From KERA in Dallas, this is think. I'm Chris Boyd.

After years of embracing free trade whenever and wherever possible,

policymakers across the political spectrum share concerns about the effect it's had on American businesses trying to

stay competitive.

The question then is how tariffs might be used strategically to set U.S. companies up for long-term

stability and growth, even if we are no longer the world's only economic superpower.

Emily Kilcrees is here with some thoughts on this.

She is senior fellow and director

of the Energy Economics and Security Program at the Center for a New American Security and

former Deputy Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for Investment. Her Foreign Affairs article

written with Jeffrey Goertz is titled, Tell Me How This Trade War Ends. Emily, welcome to think.

Thanks for having me.

Plenty of presidents, including President Trump in his first term, have introduced new tariffs over time.

What was so unprecedented about the day that he dubbed Liberation Day, April 2nd of this year?

Well, you're absolutely right,

that tariffs have long been a part of U.S. economic policy, but what's been notable about the Trump administration in its second term is the level, scale, and velocity of the tariffs.

We quickly went from being one of the most open markets around the globe

to having tariff levels that quite simply we've not seen in the modern era of globalization.

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