Why It Matters

As 2025 draws to a close, U.S. foreign policy stands at an inflection point. Under the second Trump administration, traditional alliances have been tested, a hard-edged national security strategy has been rolled out, and for the first time, CFR’s annual Preventive Priorities Survey has ranked a military conflict with Venezuela as a top threat facing the U.S. in 2026. 

 

Whether these and other flashpoints erupt next year will hinge on how world leaders manage mounting pressures, both at home and abroad.

 

Read the full 2026 Preventive Priorities Survey. 

 

Featured Guest:

Paul B. Stares (General John W. Vessey Senior Fellow for Conflict Prevention and Director of the Center for Preventive Action)

 

Why It Matters is a production of the Council on Foreign Relations. The opinions expressed on the show are solely those of the guests, not of CFR, which takes no institutional positions on matters of policy.

The unprecedented trade policies since the beginning of this year, driven largely by the Donald Trump administration’s pro-tariff agenda, have propelled the United States into uncertain and rocky territory. When it comes to our trading partners, the potential damage to U.S. alliances has left economists and policymakers in Washington questioning what’s next. Where do experts foresee U.S. trade policy heading?

 

This season, Why It Matters is taking you through the ins and outs of trade. In this season finale, CFR’s Michael Froman and Shannon K. O’Neil tackle your biggest questions about what’s at stake and what’s next for U.S. trade policy. 

 

Featured Guests:

 

Michael Froman (President of the Council on Foreign Relations)

 

Shannon K. O’Neil (Senior Vice President, Director of Studies, and Maurice R. Greenberg Chair, CFR)

To hear more from Michael Froman, subscribe to his newsletter, The World This Week.

 

For an episode transcript and show notes, visit us at https://www.cfr.org/podcasts/wim/where-does-trade-go-here

Is having a trade deficit necessarily a bad thing? Many experts argue that the U.S. trade deficit is largely good for our economy. It allows Americans to enjoy a wider variety of cheap goods, attracts foreign investment, and reflects the strength of the U.S. dollar. Others believe it’s a warning sign that we’re relying too much on imports, hurting American jobs, and racking up debt owed to other countries.

 

This season, Why It Matters is taking you through the ins and outs of trade. In this episode, we unpack the trade deficit. What is it and why has it become a primary focus of the second Trump administration?

 

Featured Guests:

 

Brad W. Setser (The Whitney Shepardson Senior Fellow specializing in global trade and capital flows, financial vulnerability analysis, and sovereign debt restructuring, CFR)

Heather Hurlburt (Associate Fellow for the U.S. and the Americas Programme, Chatham House)

 

For an episode transcript and show notes, visit us at https://www.cfr.org/podcasts/wim/mind-trade-gap

Host Gabrielle Sierra and podcast guests Johanna Mendelson Forman and Matthew Costello discuss food diplomacy, share stories from White House state dinners, and unpack how food has helped to create lasting international partnerships.

 

This taping was originally recorded on April 17, 2025.

 

Featured Guests

 

Johanna Mendelson Forman (Distinguished Fellow at the Stimson Center, Adjunct Professor at American University’s School of International Service)

Matthew Costello (Chief Education Officer and Director of the David M. Rubenstein National Center for White House History at the White House Historical Association)

What role does the president have when it comes to making trade deals? In this episode, we dig into the expansive powers of the U.S. president when it comes to trade. From unilateral authority to congressional oversight, we unpack who truly calls the shots when the U.S. negotiates trade agreements.

This season, Why It Matters is taking you through the ins and outs of trade. In this episode, Why It Matters dissects the current state of U.S. trade agreements; what deals exist, which ones are under strain, and how President Donald Trump’s unconventional approach to trade negotiations is shifting the United States away from the norm.

 

Featured Guest: 

Inu Manak (Fellow for trade policy at the Council on Foreign Relations)

 

For an episode transcript and show notes, visit us at https://www.cfr.org/podcasts/wim/trade-agreements-deal-or-no-deal