Trailer: Why Trade Matters
Why It Matters is back and this time we are dedicating an entire season to talking about trade. Alongside CFR’s leading experts, we are bringing you stories from Americans around the country and trying to figure out where Washington went wrong when it comes to U.S. trade policy.
Published
Host
- Gabrielle SierraDirector, Podcasting
Producer
- Molly McAnanyProducer, Podcasts
Audio Producer and Sound Designer
- Markus ZakariaAudio Producer & Sound Designer
Transcript
Ah trade, it’s what connects the world. Deals, negotiations, access to goods and services. It’s how we make money and get the stuff we need. And it’s a fundamental part of our relationship building with other countries. But what if everything WE thought we knew about trade...is wrong?
BINGO! Oh my god, oh my god.
Impractical Jokers: Bingo, Bingo!
JD VANCE: Look, the president’s going to have real conversations with the Canadians. We need to see real engagement on the Fentanyl issue on the drug issues…
Mike JOHNSON: The president said, just have a little patience with this, let it play out, see how it develops and I think at the end of the day America’s going to be better off.
So, here we go! This season Why It Matters is tearing up our usual script, and bringing you an entire season all about trade.
The Daily Show: Trump’s been so busy that I was getting worried he’d forgotten his plan to start a North American trade war, but my boy he put it on the cow.
And we won’t be doing it alone. This season, the council’s four leading experts in trade will help us tell these stories.
Featuring Inu Manak...
Inu MANAK: Global trade rules that the United States helped to create at the end of the Second World War are no longer being upheld by their chief architect.
Shannon O’Neil...
Shannon O’NEIL: Today the only Washington consensus I see is a suspicion in Washington about what trade the United States should be involved in.
Matt Goodman...
Matt GOODMAN: I think our trade relationships have really fallen to a real low point here.
And Ted Alden.
Ted ALDEN: Even countries that we have trouble with, like China, we trade a lot with. So it’s also kind of at the foundation, I believe, of keeping the world peaceful.
So join me, Gabrielle Sierra, starting March 19th, and every two weeks after as we cover a new way to look at trade. Because trade certainly isn’t leaving the spotlight any time soon.
Donald TRUMP: To me I think it’s the most beautiful word in the dictionary. More beautiful than love, tariff.
The Daily Show: USA! USA!
The Risk Report for 2026
Where Does U.S. Trade Go From Here?
