Tags
aluminum, Brookings Institution, Center for Strategic and International Studies, Im-Politic, Peterson Institute for International Economics, steel, tariffs, think tanks, Trade, Trump
With the announcement of the Trump tariffs on steel and aluminum – and the prospect of more trade curbs to come – the news organizations on which Americans rely for accurate and impartial information have understandably turned to private sector specialists for facts and analysis.
What’s much less understandable is that many of these specialists work at Washington, D.C.-headquartered think tanks that receive significant funding from foreign governments – many of whose economies will be profoundly affected by any major changes in U.S. trade policy. Even worse, the press coverage of the Trump tariffs has consistently failed even to mention these conflicts of interest – even though some news outlets have reported on the subject in considerable detail.
To give you an idea of how widespread these conflicts are, here’s a list of the foreign government donors for three major think tanks, drawn directly from their websites, and some figures indicating the often major sums these governments (including groups they fund) have contributed to these organizations’ budgets for the most recent data year available:
The Brookings Institution, 2016-17:
$1 million – $1.999999 million
Government of Norway:
$500,000-$999,999
Australian Government, Department of Foreign Affairs & Trade
United Arab Emirates
$250,000-$499,999
The Japan Foundation Center for Global Partnership
Japan International Cooperation Agency
Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the United States
$100,000-$249,000
Australian Government, Department of Industry, Innovation, & Science
$50,000-$99,999
Government of Denmark
European Recovery Program, German Federal Ministry of Economic Affairs and Energy
European Union
Government of Finland
Korea International Trade Association
CAF-Development Bank of Latin America
Department for International Development, United Kingdom
Embassy of France
Japan Bank for International Cooperation
Temasek Holdings
The Korea Foundation
Korea Institute for Defense Analysis
Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands
Peterson Institute for International Economics, 2016
$25,000-$49,999
Korea Institute for International Economic Policy
Swiss National Bank
Up to $24,999
Central Bank of China, Taipei
European Parliament
Japan Bank for International Cooperation
Korea Development Institute
Korea International Trade Association
Embassy of Liechtenstein
Monetary Authority of Singapore
Center for Strategic and International Studies 2016-17
$500,000 and up
Japan
Taiwan
UAE
Academy of Korean Studies
Korea Foundation
$100,000-$499,999
Australia
Denmark
South Korea
Turkey
$5,000-$99,999
Canada
China
France
Liechtenstein
The Netherlands
United Kingdom
Japan Foundation Center for Global Partnership
European Development Finance Institutions
Norwegian Institute of Defence Studies
Norwegian Institute of International Affairs
Shanghai Institutes for International Studies
Taiwan Foundation for Democracy
As I’ve written before, even analysts whose paychecks are wholly or partly written by foreign governments (or other special interests, like offshoring-happy multinational companies) can provide valuable insights. They also have every right to weigh in on any policy debate they choose. But unless you believe we don’t live in a world in which money talks, and that this goes double in a national capital, it’s clear that news consumers have an equally important right to know the source of the money behind the views they’re reading about – and that the media is letting its readers, viewers, and listeners down when this information is kept concealed.
