Unknown Knowns: Adventures in the New Economics

Trump’s Dilemma: Reshoring or Friendshoring

The debate around protectionism has reignited amidst significant confusion. ‘Reshoring’ aims to bring jobs that have been outsourced back to America to improve the economy and the lives of American workers. ‘Friendshoring,’ on the other hand, keeps jobs overseas but relocates them to friendly countries to counter China’s rise. In this case, the ‘friend’ would supply goods from an allied nation but would not create any American jobs.

Within the Trump camp, two groups have emerged advocating for these fundamentally different policies: the 'decouplers' and the 'repatriators,' as one writer has described them. What did the American electorate truly vote for—jobs or geopolitics?

To explore this timely topic, we are pleased to present Julius Krein, the editor of American Affairs, a quarterly policy journal. He is also the co-founder and director of the New American Industrial Alliance, an association of companies and investors focused on ‘reindustrialization.’ His writing has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, and other notable publications.

This discussion, the first in a series of forthcoming conversations, will be led by Philip Pilkington, a Macroeconomist and Danube Institute Fellow. He will be joined by Carlos Roa, also a Fellow at the Danube Institute.

Date: Tuesday, January 28, 2025, 5.30 PM

Venue: Lónyay-Hatvany Villa - 1. Csónak str., 1015 Budapest

(Entrance: Aranybástya Restaurant)

We reserve the right to make changes to the organisation of events. Participation in the event is free of charge, but requires pre-registration by clicking on the

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