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Why economists got free trade with China so wrong

Overview

Shownote

Highlights

Transcript

Chapters

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Why economists got free trade with China so wrong

Planet Money

2025/12/30
Planet Money

Planet Money

2025/12/30
OverviewShownoteHighlightsTranscriptChaptersPins

Shownote

With the year coming to a close, we're sharing our most popular Planet Money bonus episode of 2025!  As U.S. trade with China exploded in the early 2000's, American manufacturing began to shrivel. Those workers struggled to adapt and find new jobs. It ran...

Highlights

The promise of free trade once dominated economic thinking, with experts touting its benefits for growth and efficiency. But when the floodgates opened to Chinese imports in the early 2000s, the reality on the ground told a different story—one of shattered communities, stagnant careers, and lasting economic scars.
00:00
Free trade was supposed to benefit everyone, but displaced workers often never recovered.
06:30
The China trade shock hit localized manufacturing sectors hard, causing long-term joblessness.
13:50
Manufacturing decline in exposed areas led to lasting worker hardship despite regional recovery.
18:47
The China shock paper resonated with the rise of Trumpism
23:51
Tariffs did not benefit U.S. manufacturing but raised prices

Chapters

What Happened to America's Factory Towns?
00:00
Who Really Paid the Price for Cheap Imports?
05:52
Why Didn't Workers Just Move or Retrain?
11:20
How Job Loss Reshaped Communities and Politics
16:15
Can America Compete Without Repeating the Past?
21:19

Transcript

David Autor: This message comes from the National Marine Sanctuary Foundation, connecting Americans to their shared maritime heritage. Help keep the ocean, coasts, and Great Lakes clean, open, and accessible to all. Make your gift now at marinesanctuary.or...