For years, the D.C. and global corporate elites, in the name of free trade orthodoxy, allowed markets and market efficiencies to be an overwhelming influence on policy decisions. Nowhere was that more evident than in the realm of international trade relations, where the United States repeatedly entered into deals that protected and promoted the interests of foreign workers, foreign agriculture, and foreign businesses — but not our own. American workers and American communities were ground beneath the inescapable “progress” that transformed the likes of Shenzhen and Reynosa into productive powerhouses — while the likes of Detroit, Cleveland, Milwaukee, and Pittsburgh — America’s industrial backbone — slid into decline. Free trade is an intrinsic good, but only if it is also fair trade, and the America First Policy Institute (AFPI) will advance policies that champion free and fair American trade.
Team
Latest
Statement
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April 2, 2025
Ambassador Robert Lighthizer Applauds “Liberation Day”
Washington, D.C. – Today, the America First Policy Institute (AFPI) released the following statement from Ambassador Robert Lighthizer, Chair of the Center for American Trade regarding President Trump’s “Liberation Day” announcement of fair and reciprocal trade policies:
Op-Ed
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October 10, 2024
Kamala Harris Should Tell the Truth About Her Record on Trade
Vice President Kamala Harris' recent statement in Michigan criticizing the U.S.-Mexico-Canada (USMCA) trade agreement follows an unfortunate pattern of the Democrat's campaign: moving from mere evasion to outright fabrication.
Commentary
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August 17, 2023
SPEECH: The Naval War College Foundation Symposium
I believe there is general agreement in this room that when we talk of deterrence it is most importantly the Chinese Communist Party who we need to deter and that it is a dangerous increasingly aggressive adversary of the United States.
Commentary
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October 15, 2021
Ambassador Lighthizer joined Kudlow on Fox Business
News
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September 24, 2021