Foreign Policy for the Middle Class, Explained

No audio? Hover over the video player, and tap the Click to Unmute button.

On-demand recordings of FP Live conversations are available to FP subscribers.

The Biden administration has made it a point to focus on investing in the middle class—even when considering foreign policy and trade. The White House has poured money into initiatives such as the Inflation Reduction Act and the CHIPS and Science Act to encourage domestic production and job creation. As a member of Biden’s Council of Economic Advisers and chief economist of his Invest in America Cabinet, Heather Boushey is one of the primary intellectual architects of the U.S. approach to inequality, growth, and job creation.

Is Washington’s turn toward industrial policy working as planned?

Boushey joined FP’s Ravi Agrawal for a wide-ranging discussion on the U.S. economy.

Boushey refutes critiques that Bidenomics is trying to do too much by tying infrastructure investments to childcare and workers rights, saying instead that it is offering U.S. companies best-in-class practices. For the full back and forth between Biden’s chief economic advisor and FP Live host Ravi Agrawal, watch the interview.

Watch Boushey, U.S. President Joe Biden’s chief economic advisor, defend the CHIPS and Science Act against the criticism that it is encouraging protectionism.  

Biden’s chief economist says that the United States is not looking to stop trade with China but rethinking how U.S. trade policies could benefit American workers. 

Heather Boushey

Member, Council of Economic Advisers and Chief Economist, Investing in America Cabinet

Heather Boushey is a member of the Council of Economic Advisers and chief economist of the White House’s Invest in America Cabinet. She is also a co-founder of the Washington Center for Equitable Growth, where she was president and CEO from 2013 to 2020. Previously, Boushey was the chief economist for Hillary Clinton’s 2016 transition team and an economist at the Center for American Progress, the U.S. Congress Joint Economic Committee, the Center for Economic and Policy Research, and the Economic Policy Institute. She is the author of Unbound: How Inequality Constricts Our Economy and What We Can Do About It and Finding Time: The Economics of Work-Life Conflict.

Host

Ravi Agrawal

Editor in chief, Foreign Policy

Ravi Agrawal is the editor in chief of Foreign Policy, the host of FP Live, and a regular world affairs analyst on TV and radio. Before joining FP in 2018, Agrawal worked at CNN for more than a decade in full-time roles spanning three continents, including as the network’s New Delhi bureau chief and correspondent. He is the author of India Connected: How the Smartphone Is Transforming the World’s Largest Democracy.

Related

Upcoming Discussions

Decoding Trump’s Foreign-Policy Plans

✓  

Registered

Ask a Question

Ask a Question

  1. Only FP subscribers can submit questions for FP Live interviews.

    ALREADY AN FP SUBSCRIBER?

  2. Only FP subscribers can submit questions for FP Live interviews.

    ALREADY AN FP SUBSCRIBER?

On-Demand from FP Live

How Platon Photographs Power

Whether you know it or not, you’ve seen the work of portrait photographer Platon. Gracing magazine covers and protest signs, his photos of world leaders and cultural icons capture the truth behind the cliche “A picture is worth a thousand words.” Platon sits down with FP’s Ravi Agrawal to describe what drives his art and how he connects with his subjects, no matter how powerful they may be.

  1. Only FP subscribers can submit questions for FP Live interviews.

    ALREADY AN FP SUBSCRIBER?

  2. Only FP subscribers can submit questions for FP Live interviews.

    ALREADY AN FP SUBSCRIBER?

Aspen Security Forum: The View From Singapore

Few countries in the world are as adept at interpreting China’s foreign policy as Singapore. At this year’s Aspen Security Forum in Colorado, FP’s Ravi Agrawal sat down with Singaporean Defense Minister Ng Eng Hen. The two discussed the U.S.-China relationship as well as American soft power in Southeast Asia.

  1. Only FP subscribers can submit questions for FP Live interviews.

    ALREADY AN FP SUBSCRIBER?

  2. Only FP subscribers can submit questions for FP Live interviews.

    ALREADY AN FP SUBSCRIBER?

Is Canada Free-Riding on Defense?

World leaders are congregating in Washington for the annual NATO summit. Amid Russia’s continued war in Ukraine, most NATO members are upping their defense spending to a minimum of 2 percent of their respective GDPs. Canada is increasingly seen as lagging behind. FP’s Ravi Agrawal asked Canadian Defense Minister Bill Blair about his nation’s spending.

  1. Only FP subscribers can submit questions for FP Live interviews.

    ALREADY AN FP SUBSCRIBER?

  2. Only FP subscribers can submit questions for FP Live interviews.

    ALREADY AN FP SUBSCRIBER?

How to Defend Europe

Ahead of the NATO summit that begins on July 9, Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski will join FP Live to discuss the war in Ukraine, the future of Europe, and the continent’s alliance with the United States. Sikorski also contributed to FP’s latest issue, which will address the issue at the heart of this conversation: Can Europe fend for itself?

  1. Only FP subscribers can submit questions for FP Live interviews.

    ALREADY AN FP SUBSCRIBER?

  2. Only FP subscribers can submit questions for FP Live interviews.

    ALREADY AN FP SUBSCRIBER?

Foreign Policy’s forum for live journalism, convening experts and world leaders.

Loading graphics