The article argues that recent executive overreach and politicization have severely undermined established norms of U.S. civil-military relations. To restore professional standards, the incoming Congress must actively exercise its oversight powers, moving beyond mere criticism to demanding transparency in defense policy and personnel decisions. Key reforms include enforcing meritocratic promotion processes, requiring documented justification for senior officer removals, and preventing the partisan use of the military. These actions are crucial for bolstering public trust and ensuring the military remains a nonpartisan instrument of civilian control.
The hidden tradeoffs of using Trump’s tariffs as leverage with China
English Summary
The Brookings analysis argues that the U.S.'s complex, stacked tariff regime makes its use as leverage against China highly difficult, requiring careful balancing of competing national security and trade objectives. While a proposed Board of Trade aims for limited tariff relief on "non-sensitive" goods, any deal must avoid undermining existing trade preferences or giving China excessive market access in key sectors like textiles. The report finds that because tariffs are layered (e.g., forced-labor duties over Section 301), meaningful relief requires the U.S. to maintain control over relative tariff treatment. Consequently, even if a tariff exchange occurs, it may not translate into material trade gains for U.S. exporters if non-tariff barriers or state purchasing decisions remain in place.
中文摘要
布魯金斯智庫的分析指出，美國複雜且層疊的關稅制度，使其作為對華的籌碼難度極高，需要仔細權衡相互衝突的國家安全與貿易目標。儘管有提議設立貿易委員會旨在對「非敏感」商品提供有限關稅減免，但任何協議都必須避免削弱現有的貿易優惠，或讓中國在紡織品等關鍵產業獲得過度的市場准入。該報告發現，由於關稅是層層疊加的（例如，強制勞工關稅與《301條款》），實質性的減免要求美國必須維持對相對關稅待遇的控制權。因此，即使發生關稅交換，如果非關稅壁壘或國家採購決策依然存在，對美國出口商而言，也可能無法轉化為實質的貿易收益。
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