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The World Is Trading Between Companies, Not Nations, Lee Says

bloomberg-surveillance-podcast economics-business-work Apr 11, 2026 source →
Claims
105
Domain
economics-business-work
Reading time
8 min
Record
The World Is Trading Between Companies, Not Nations, Lee Say

Claims from this story

Every atomic assertion extracted from the underlying record, ranked by evidence strength.

Sustained growth above 2.5% requires technology to kick in and boost productivity.

paraphrasestatedeconomics-business-workApr 11, 2026

The border tax is considered "dead and done" by many.

paraphrasestatedeconomics-business-workApr 11, 2026

The world is no longer trading between nations but between companies with huge supply chains.

paraphrasestatedeconomics-business-workApr 11, 2026

The Laffer curve is not effective in a complex modern economic system.

paraphrasestatedeconomics-business-workApr 11, 2026

There is a housing market bubble of "epic proportions" in South Central Ontario, including the greater Toronto area.

paraphrasestatedeconomics-business-workApr 11, 2026

Bill Lee was formerly head of North America Economics at Citi.

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The White House passed out a one-pager outlining their tax reform proposal.

paraphrasestatedeconomics-business-workApr 11, 2026

The White House's one-pager on tax reform was about 200 words.

paraphrasestatedeconomics-business-workApr 11, 2026

Gary Cohn and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin passed out the tax reform one-pager.

paraphrasestatedeconomics-business-workApr 11, 2026

The White House reaffirmed their commitment to doing tax reform and reducing corporate tax rates.

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Policymakers need to find a trillion dollars to fill the gap if the border tax is dead.

paraphrasestatedeconomics-business-workApr 11, 2026

Historically, the exchange rate does not move instantaneously in response to export-import taxes and current account shocks, taking several years.

paraphrasestatedeconomics-business-workApr 11, 2026

A border tax would boost exports and hold back imports during the transition period before exchange rate appreciation.

paraphrasestatedeconomics-business-workApr 11, 2026

To make trade beneficial for everyone, gainers should be taxed and losers subsidized.

paraphrasestatedeconomics-business-workApr 11, 2026

During the transition period of exchange rate appreciation, exporters like Boeing should be taxed to help pay for costs faced by importers.

paraphrasestatedeconomics-business-workApr 11, 2026

Exemptions and phase-ins for the border tax could help raise revenues and allow for lower tax rates.

paraphrasestatedeconomics-business-workApr 11, 2026

The current regulatory environment does not inspire the use of capital for investments that boost productivity.

paraphrasestatedeconomics-business-workApr 11, 2026

Companies are looking for ways of pushing dividends and stock buybacks instead of investing.

paraphrasestatedeconomics-business-workApr 11, 2026

Donald Trump is not LBJ, and Mitch McConnell is not LBJ, making it difficult to gain bipartisan support for tax reform.

paraphrasestatedeconomics-business-workApr 11, 2026

Republicans may have to resort to reconciliation for tax reform, a one-party approach.

paraphrasestatedeconomics-business-workApr 11, 2026

The House speaker indicated 80% agreement between his plan and the White House's plan on tax reform.

paraphrasestatedeconomics-business-workApr 11, 2026

If the current analysis of the border tax is right (rapid exchange rate appreciation), it would cause financial market turmoil and a huge wealth transfer abroad.

paraphrasestatedeconomics-business-workApr 11, 2026

No one has ever shown that tax dynamics can guarantee growth.

paraphrasestatedeconomics-business-workApr 11, 2026

Tax dynamics are a key ingredient to increasing productivity by incentivizing people to do the right thing.

paraphrasestatedeconomics-business-workApr 11, 2026

A coordinated tax and regulatory environment is needed to boost productivity.

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Trade is only 25% of the U.S. economy.

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The President is fixated on NAFTA because his core constituents are interested in job creation, particularly manufacturing jobs.

paraphrasestatedeconomics-business-workApr 11, 2026

Donald Trump agreed to renegotiate NAFTA with the presidents of Mexico and Canada rather than terminate it.

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A NAFTA-type treaty needs to deal with sector-by-sector, almost company-by-company type trade relations.

paraphrasestatedeconomics-business-workApr 11, 2026

Multilateral trade deals are not appropriate for U.S.-type trade.

paraphrasestatedeconomics-business-workApr 11, 2026

The objective of trade policy should be to maximize high-wage job growth in the United States.

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The White House's one-page tax plan indicates how far apart the sides are in Congress.

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The Milken Institute's approach is to put in place collaborative solutions by talking to one another and identifying agreements and disagreements.

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Congress needs to come forward with its own tax plan.

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Paul Ryan has put out his tax plan.

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The Senate is not in favor of the border adjustment aspect of the House plan.

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A tax plan has to start in the House Ways and Means Committee, be voted out, go to the Senate, and then be conferenced and sent to the president.

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President Trump is firmly behind the tax reform effort and is exerting a leadership role.

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The details of the tax bill are left to Congress, especially regarding the border adjustability provision.

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The White House does not have guidance on income brackets for the proposed three tax brackets (10%, 25%, 35%).

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The scoring of tax bills is up to the Joint Tax Committee and the Congressional Budget Office.

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The tax on pass-throughs and small businesses would go down to 15%, matching the corporate rate.

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Reduced taxes spurred growth of around 3% or 4% in the 1980s after the Reagan tax cuts.

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After the Bush tax cuts were fully implemented in 2003, there was a lot of growth.

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If there's a lower tax rate, people can invest in projects with a slightly lower rate of return, leading to more projects and investment.

paraphrasestatedeconomics-business-workApr 11, 2026

The United States has the highest corporate tax rate among industrialized nations at 39%, including federal and state taxes.

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U.S. companies are inverting to take advantage of lower tax rates in other countries.

paraphrasestatedeconomics-business-workApr 11, 2026

Lowering corporate taxes will provide the biggest "bang for the buck" for growth.

paraphrasestatedeconomics-business-workApr 11, 2026

Only seven countries tax companies on a worldwide basis on their worldwide income.

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Worldwide taxation makes it harder for U.S. companies to repatriate their earnings.

paraphrasestatedeconomics-business-workApr 11, 2026

There is $2.6 trillion worth of earnings U.S. companies have abroad.

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Even if half of the $2.6 trillion in foreign earnings were repatriated, it would be $1.3 trillion.

paraphrasestatedeconomics-business-workApr 11, 2026

Making changes to repatriation permanent is the most efficacious way to incentivize companies.

paraphrasestatedeconomics-business-workApr 11, 2026

Repealing Obamacare (Affordable Care Act) would save money, which Congress could use for reducing taxes.

paraphrasestatedeconomics-business-workApr 11, 2026

Repealing Obamacare would show that Congress can get something done.

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If tax reform does not happen, there will be less business investment and lower tax revenues.

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Tax reform is absolutely essential to propel economic growth, reduce the deficit, and reduce the deficit as a share of GDP to reach 3% or 4% growth.

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Martin Feldstein proposed gradually raising the Social Security retirement age to 70 for people younger than 55.

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Duties back and forth between Canada and the United States on softwood lumber are mostly annual duties.

paraphrasestatedeconomics-business-workApr 11, 2026

The market has not significantly reacted to the softwood lumber duties, suggesting it's a non-event for stocks.

paraphrasestatedeconomics-business-workApr 11, 2026