July 28, 2025

ALI Perspective

America desperately needs a new way forward that allows it to reengage with the world through peaceful means and restores American economic global leadership.

To answer this need, ALI is launching a new project, Revitalizing American Economic Leadership, to confront these challenges head-on and develop a roadmap to rebuild a new American consensus for global economic engagement that restores American economic and national security. The roadmap will have four pillars, which will be fleshed out: Redefine a new Trade and Economic Partnership Paradigm; Promote Economic and National Security; Reimagine Nonmilitary Tools of Power and Influence; and Advance the U.S. Workforce and Competitiveness.

Current policies are dismantling the post-war global architecture and eroding America's historic advantages. Yet, there is a broad consensus that, given the new geostrategic and technological realities, the policies of the past 80 years are no longer sustainable. We need a new path forward that meets the need of this era.

ALI will be working with a diverse group of elected officials, thought leaders and stakeholders as we develop a new body of thought and path forward that addresses these new realities. We will keep the ALI community posted as we release papers and host conversations on these topics over the next several months.

ICYMI

ALI hosted a robust conversation on "Repairing Relationships with America's Allies" at the home of New Zealand Amb. Rosemary Banks. We were joined by Congressmen Ami Bera and Brendan Boyle, as well as Netherlands Amb. Birgitta Tazelaar and Japan Economic Counselor Kazumichi Nagaoka. The group discussed how our allies are faring in light of the Trump administration's tariffs, and the opportunity to create a new global economic architecture in the future.

The group discussed the breakdown of the post-WWII architecture. The old institutions are no longer relevant for this new age, which provides an opportunity to build new institutions that will address the geostrategic and technological changes that will shape the next 75 years.

Coming Up

Virtual Conversation with Senior Congressional Staff on the Substance and Politics of the Fall Trade Agenda
Conversation on Advancing U.S. Technology and AI Leadership

Congressional Developments

New Democrat Coalition Innovation Agenda

The New Democrat Coalition released an agenda to advance American innovation in cutting-edge technology-- such as AI, automation, quantum computing, and robotics-- to deliver real benefits for middle-class Americans.

Grassley, Cantwell Introduce Bill to Restore Congress’ Constitutional Role in Trade

Senate Finance Committee Members Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Maria Cantwell (D-Washington) introduced bipartisan legislation in April—called The Trade Review Act of 2025—aimed at reaffirming Congress’s constitutional role in shaping and approving U.S. trade policy.

The Price of Retreat: America Cedes Global Leadership to China

Democrats on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee issued a report describing how cuts to foreign assistance, sweeping tariffs on allies, and gutting of R&D have severely weakened U.S. global leadership, creating a vacuum that China is filling.

What We're Reading

CSIS: Rethinking Copper Tariffs

"Copper is indispensable to every pillar of U.S. security—national, economic, and energy-related. As the world’s second-largest consumer, the United States used approximately 1.6 million metric tons of refined copper in 2024. Yet, its participation in the global copper supply chain remains disproportionately small, contributing only 5.1 percent of mined copper and a mere 3.3 percent of refined output. This imbalance underscores the strategic vulnerability the tariffs aim to address and highlights the pressing need for a more resilient domestic copper ecosystem."

NYTimes: China Flexes Muscles at U.N. Cultural Agency, Just as Trump Walks Away

"The United States was once the largest UNESCO backer, accounting for nearly 25 cents of every dollar. But Washington has had an on-again-off-again relationship with it for years, especially since Mr. Trump first took office in 2017, and China has stepped up to take its place. A Chinese official is now UNESCO’s deputy director general, a post that diplomats said is often awarded in exchange for political or monetary favors."

Sourcing Journal: Trump's Trade War Could Kill Lesotho's Garment Industry

"If the African Growth and Opportunity Act, or AGOA, isn’t renewed in September, the entire garment industry could cease to exist, the government has said. It doesn’t help that U.S. foreign aid cuts have “crippled industries that previously sustained thousands of jobs,” as Prime Minister Samuel Matekane said on TV last month. Nor does it that until March, Lesotho was under an eight-month state of disaster because of acute food insecurity."

Providing a new vision for American global leadership