How Will the U.S. Deal With a Weaponized World Economy?

Net Assessment

Chris, Melanie, and Zack discuss Henry Farrell and Abraham Newman’s new article “The Weaponized World Economy.” Is the United States, which has been accused of weaponizing the global economy now getting a taste of its own medicine? Should America try to rebuild its economic security state for a world in which adversaries and allies can also employ economic coercion against us? And what are the key risks or challenges that the U.S. government will face if it goes down this path? Grievances for using the National Guard to pick up trash; to President Trump for toying with the idea of running for a third term; and to the Trump administration for botching the relationship with India. Attas to America’s workers on Labor Day – including the millions who came here from outside of the United States; to Marco Rubio and Steve Witkoff for their performance in the last Cabinet meeting; and to a German firm, Luxcara’s, decision to drop Chinese technology in a new windfarm.

Show Links:

• Henry Farrell and Abraham Newman, “The Weaponized World Economy,” Foreign Affairs, September/October 2025.

• Tara Copp, “National Guard troops deployed in D.C. add sanitation, landscaping duties,” The Washington Post, August 27, 2025.

• Paul Kiernan, “How a Historic Immigration Drop Is Changing the Job Market,” Wall Street Journal, August 24, 2025.

• “New Visions for Grand Strategy”

• Marco Rubio, “New Visa Policies Put America First, Not China,” US State Department, May 28, 2025.

• Greg Ip, “The US Marches Toward State Capitalism with American Characteristics,” Wall Street Journal, August, 11, 2025.

• Jonah Goldberg, “The Donald Always Gets His Slice,” The Dispatch, August 27, 2025.

• Howard Lutnik on The Ingraham Angle, X post, August 25, 2025.

• Petra Sorge, “German Wind Farm to Drop China Turbine Order After Backlash,” Bloomberg, August 25, 2025.

• Noah Barkin, LinkedIn post, August 27, 2025.

• Jason Ma, “Rural America is Suffering an Economic Crisis as Crop Prices Plunge — ‘US Soybean Farmers Cannot Survive a Prolonged Trade Dispute,’” MSN.com, August 30, 2025.

• Stimson event on September 17th, New Visions for Grand Strategy.

• Support Stimson, https://www.stimson.org/support/.