Expert Available: Trump’s Aggressive Economic Tactics Reshape U.S. Foreign Policy, Sparking Global Uncertainty

The Trump administration has intensified his use of economic measures, such as tariffs and sanctions, to pressure countries into aligning with U.S. policy on issues like trade, migration, and territory.

His combative strategy targets both adversaries and allies, risking global economic instability and undermining trust in U.S. economic power. While these threats aim to demonstrate U.S. leverage, experts warn they may backfire, encouraging nations to develop alternatives to U.S.-led financial systems.

Faculty experts at the George Washington University are available to offer insight, analysis and commentary on the ramifications of a U.S.-led financial system. If you would like to speak with an expert, please contact GW Media Relations Specialist Tayah Frye at [email protected].

Economics

Rodney Lake is a teaching instructor of finance and the director of the GW Investment Institute at the GW School of Business (GWSB). At the GW Investment Institute, Lake teaches courses associated with student investment funds as well as oversees portfolios, connects with alumni and industry practitioners, leads the GW Investment Institute Live Show and other events, and oversees GW Investment Institute’s day-to-day operations. Prior to Lake’s current appointment in the GWSB Department of Finance and the GW Investment Institute, Lake worked as a senior investment officer in the GW Investment Office and was previously a senior financial analyst in the Executive Vice President and Treasurer’s Office at GW.

Steven Hamilton is an Assistant Professor of Economics at The George Washington University. His primary area of research is public finance, where he studies the effects of taxes on behavior with a view to designing better tax policy. In recent research, he investigates the degree to which taxpayers should be allowed to claim tax deductions by measuring the extent to which taxpayers use deductions to avoid paying taxes. Hamilton has provided extensive economic commentary to the New York Times, the LA Times, Time Magazine, Newsweek, The Atlantic, Slate, The Hill, the Sydney Morning Herald, and The Australian, among others.

Joe Cordes is professor of Economics, Public Policy and Public Administration, and International Affairs and a co-director of the George Washington Regulatory Studies Center. Dr. Cordes was a Brookings Economic Policy fellow in the Office of Tax Policy in the U.S. Department of the Treasury in 1980-81, and served as a senior economist on the Treasury’s Tax Reform project in 1984. From 1989 to 1991 he was Deputy Assistant Director for Tax Analysis at the Congressional Budget Office. He has been a consultant to the Washington, DC Tax Revision Commission, the RAND Corporation, and numerous government agencies including the Congressional Budget Office, Internal Revenue Service Office of Research, the U.S. Treasury Department, National Institute of Standards and Technology, and the National Research Council.

Anthony Yezer, professor of economics, teaches courses in regional economics, urban economics, and the economics of crime. He has been a Fellow of the Homer Hoyt School of Advanced Studies in Real Estate and Urban Economics since 1991. Although his research has concentrated on urban and regional economics, he has worked on a number of other areas where microeconomic theory is applied including: interregional migration, mortgage lending and credit risk measurement, optimal city size, spatial competition, and interarea rent and price indexes, among others.

Pao-Lin Tien is Assistant Professor and Director of Undergraduate Studies at the Department of Economics, George Washington University. Professor Tien received her Ph.D. and M.A. in Economics from Washington University in St. Louis, and earned her B.A. in Mathematics-Economics from Wesleyan University. Prof. Tien most recently worked as a research economist at the Bureau of Economic Analysis, and was Assistant Professor at Wesleyan University. Professor Tien’s research interest focuses generally on empirical macroeconomics. She has publications and working papers in the area of international economics, monetary economics, business cycle fluctuations, and forecasting.

Foreign Policy

Natalia Dinello, Director of the Global Residencies Program at the Graduate School of Political Management. Dr. Dinello is an expert in comparative politics and campaigns. Dinello can discuss politics existing outside of the United States, specifically elections, as well as the influence of the U.S. on outside elections, and outside elections in the U.S.

Ambassador (ret) Gordon Gray, Kuwait Professor of Gulf and Arabian Peninsula Affairs at the George Washington University. Prior to joining the Elliott School of International Affairs, Gray served in the U.S. government for 35 years.Before joining the faculty at the Elliott School, he was previously Chief Operating Officer at the Center for American Progress and, before that, Executive Vice President at the National U.S.-Arab Chamber of Commerce.

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