Economy & Business

Economy & Business

The US must lead with allies or risk becoming a bystander in a reshaped international financial system. As the global economy struggles to recover from COVID-19 and rising powers like China assert economic influence, this mission is critical to the long-term prosperity of the United States and its allies. Strong collaboration between the public and private sectors can help revitalize open markets for the twenty-first century.

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Programs

At the intersection of economics, finance, and foreign policy, the GeoEconomics Center is a translation hub with the goal of helping shape a better global economic future.

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Featured Analysis

Advice to the Trump Administration on the evolution of war

New Atlanticist Aug 11, 2025

The US-EU trade agreement is not set in stone. This presents pitfalls and opportunities.

By Charles Lichfield

The trade and tariff deal recently struck in Scotland has several important elements that are yet to be determined.
Economy & Business European Union
Advice to the Trump Administration on the evolution of war

New Atlanticist Aug 4, 2025

Trump’s review of US membership in the IMF offers a rare chance for reform

By Martin Mühleisen

The institution needs its major shareholders aligned to tackle new challenges, and it deserves a management team qualified to lead it on this new path.
Economy & Business International Financial Institutions
Advice to the Trump Administration on the evolution of war

New Atlanticist Aug 1, 2025

How Donald Trump remade global trade

By Josh Lipsky

The US president has smashed the system, but the speed and scale of the smashing owes to a system that had been growing increasingly brittle for years. 
Economy & Business Macroeconomics
Advice to the Trump Administration on the evolution of war

Econographics Jul 31, 2025

Beijing extends and pretends to deal with its mountain of local government debt

By Jeremy Mark

Beijing’s three-year local debt restructuring plan fails to actually address the trillions of dollars weighing on local governments and will only cause greater problems down the road.
China Economy & Business
Advice to the Trump Administration on the evolution of war

Econographics Aug 22, 2025

Trump’s challenges to the Fed’s independence loom over Jackson Hole Symposium

By Alisha Chhangani

As Trump tests the limits of what he can do, the credibility of the Fed—and by extension, global financial stability—is increasingly at risk.
Economy & Business Macroeconomics
Advice to the Trump Administration on the evolution of war

New Atlanticist Jul 17, 2025

What Ancient Greece can teach the United States about defending against cyber attacks

By Carole House

Applying lessons from the Battle of Thermopylae in 480 BC to present-day cyber warfare is surprisingly instructive.
Cybersecurity Iran

In-Depth Research

Advice to the Trump Administration on the evolution of war

Issue Brief Jun 6, 2025

How Japanese economic statecraft has shifted from promotion to protection

By Charles Lichfield

Japan is in a geopolitically challenging neighborhood and is witnessing the basic tenets of its foreign policy—from alignment with the United States to fostering a rules-based environment—come under unprecedented stress.
East Asia Economy & Business
Advice to the Trump Administration on the evolution of war

Issue Brief Apr 28, 2025

Modernizing the tools of economic statecraft to meet the challenges of today

By Lesley Chavkin, Eitan Danon, Kimberly Donovan, Andrew Gallucci, and Caroline Hill

As the current administration revisits the functions and mechanics of government, near-term steps can be taken, under existing statutory authorities, to modernize how the United States uses its economic strength to combat national security threats and promote American interests.
Economy & Business Financial Crimes & Illicit Trade
Advice to the Trump Administration on the evolution of war

Issue Brief Mar 3, 2025

Financing the future: Unlocking private capital for global infrastructure and climate goals

By Amin Mohseni-Cheraghlou, Nisha Narayanan, Hung Tran

MDBs and international financial institutions alone cannot bridge the climate and development financing gaps.
Economy & Business Financial Regulation

Read the latest from the GeoEconomics Center

Econographics

Apr 22, 2026

In renegotiating the USMCA, Mexico should neither rush nor stall

By Phil Lovegren, Ernesto Stein

With the USMCA under review, Mexico faces a delicate balance: rushing risks economic harm, but delay brings uncertainty—making patience a viable fallback strategy.

Economy & Business Financial Regulation

Transcript

Apr 17, 2026

Banque de France Governor François Villeroy de Galhau: ‘Europe and America will either win together or fall together’

By Atlantic Council

At an Atlantic Council event, the French central bank governor said that the US Supreme Court tariff decision “reminds us that American checks and balances might well be alive,” but it has “reopened legal uncertainty."

Economy & Business European Union

Econographics

Apr 14, 2026

The debt comes due—but there is no one to pick up the tab

By Bart Piasecki

Many of the IMF’s latest warnings center on the fallout of the Iran war. But another key message has focused on debt: because the world has neglected fiscal consolidation for more than two decades, the time to reverse course is now.

Economy & Business Macroeconomics
Read More from the GeoEconomics center

Content

Defense Industrialist

Nov 28, 2016

Advice to the Trump Administration on the evolution of war

By James Hasik

Technological developments and actual financial constraints demand top-to-bottom rethinking of the business of defense. As I wrote earlier this month, Donald Trump’s unpredicted electoral victory has brought the possibility for real change in the enterprise of national security. To borrow Paul Ryan’s phrase, thoroughly rethinking the business of defense could create a military that moves closer to […]

China Defense Industry

Trade in Action

Nov 23, 2016

TTIP&TRADE in Action – November 23, 2016

By Global Business & Economics Program

Happy Thanksgiving from the TTIP&TRADE in Action newsletter team!                                 Thanksgiving Turkey Fun Facts:-Americans will consume 46 million turkeys tomorrow ($610 million worth)-Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin’s first meal on the moon was turkey-Every year, the US president pardons two Turkeys, and one is voted as the National […]

Economy & Business Europe & Eurasia

New Atlanticist

Nov 22, 2016

Mr. Trump, Don’t Pull Out of the TPP

By Ashish Kumar Sen

If US President-elect Donald Trump were to keep his promise to withdraw the United States from a trans-Pacific free-trade agreement it would severely undermine US credibility and open the door for China to set the rules on global trade, according to Atlantic Council analysts. Trump issued a video on November 21 in which he outlined […]

Economy & Business

New Atlanticist

Nov 22, 2016

TTIP is on ‘Life Support’

A fundamental fear of globalization is the greatest threat to the success of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), said Marie Kasperek, assistant director of the Atlantic Council’s Global Business and Economics Program. Kasperek joined Fran Burwell, vice president and director of the Future Europe Initiative at the Atlantic Council, to discuss the future […]

Economy & Business Trade and tariffs

Trade in Action

Nov 18, 2016

TTIP&TRADE in Action – November 18, 2016

By Global Business & Economics Program

During his last visit to Europe as the President of the United States, President Barack Obama met with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, among other European leaders. The two called on president-elect Donald Trump not to give up on a transatlantic trade deal. Read more here.

Economy & Business Europe & Eurasia

AfricaSource

Nov 17, 2016

Bond Notes: A Final Blow to Zimbabwe’s Rock Bottom Economy?

By Chloë McGrath

A briefer on Zimbabwe’s impending quasi-currency Seven years since abandoning its own currency, Zimbabwe’s government is moving full steam ahead to introduce what it calls “bond notes” into the country’s multi-currency system. The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) announced this month that it has released the regulations creating the legal precedent to print and circulate […]

Africa Economy & Business

Report

Nov 17, 2016

A path to US leadership in the Asia-Pacific

By Olin Wethington and Robert A. Manning

 

Australia China

New Atlanticist

Nov 16, 2016

President-Elect Trump, Do More Trade with Mexico

US President-elect Donald Trump’s campaign rhetoric denouncing free-trade deals, including the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), has created a climate of uncertainty for the global market. Instead, increased US trade links and collaboration with Mexico would be beneficial for both countries, a former member of the National Innovation and Competitiveness Strategy Advisory Board said […]

China Economy & Business

Defense Industrialist

Nov 15, 2016

Rethinking the business of defense

By James Hasik

Advice to the Trump Administration on bringing discipline to the defense enterprise At the conclusion of an unconventional but brilliant campaign, Donald Trump has effected, in terms he might appreciate, a hostile takeover of the executive branch of the United States federal government. In that campaign, he repeatedly promised to move swiftly towards administrative change, perhaps in a hundred-day campaign. […]

Defense Industry Defense Policy

New Atlanticist

Nov 14, 2016

Trump Must Reassure Israel, Gulf Partners Over Iran, says Retired Gen. David H. Petraeus

By Ashish Kumar Sen

This is Part 1 of a two-part interview. As the next president of the United States, Donald Trump should reassure both Arab Gulf partners and Israel of a US commitment to address the threat posed by Iran, said retired Army Gen. David H. Petraeus, a former director of the CIA who serves on the Atlantic […]

Economy & Business International Organizations
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Experts

Fellow

Rza Aliyev

Nonresident Senior Fellow, N7 Initiative

Rafik Hariri Center & Middle East programs

Azerbaijani Central Asia

Fellow

Hanaa Almoaibed

Nonresident senior fellow

Rafik Hariri Center & Middle East programs Rafik Hariri Center for the Middle East

Arabic Economy & Business

Fellow

Wa’el Alzayat

Nonresident Senior Fellow

Rafik Hariri Center & Middle East programs

Arabic Economy & Business

Fellow

Shahira Amin

Nonresident Senior Fellow

Rafik Hariri Center & Middle East programs Scowcroft Middle East Security Initiative

Arabic Economy & Business

Millennium fellow

Alen Amini

Management Consultant, Boston Consulting Group

Millennium Leadership Program

Economy & Business Technology & Innovation

Fellow

Mark Boris Andrijanič

Nonresident Senior Fellow

Europe Center Millennium Leadership Program

Central Europe Economy & Business
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Events

Flagship Event Fri, December 11, 2026 • 8:30 am ET

2026 Transatlantic Forum on GeoEconomics

The Transatlantic Forum on GeoEconomics is an annual flagship convening focused on issues at the nexus of economics, finance, foreign policy, and national security.
Digital Policy Economy & Business Europe & Eurasia European Union

LIVE: The 2026 Distinguished Leadership Awards

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