Fixed Idea ( idée fixe)   ‘A firmly held, irrational idea or belief that is maintained despite evidence to the contrary. It may take the form of delusion and become an obsession.’ APA Dictionary of Psychology.   One need not have a degree in psychology to conclude that President Trump suffers from a severe obsession with tariffs as an instrument of foreign policy to achieve a variety of international economic or other objectives. In the weeks since my last blog, he backed off

In early 2025, the new US administration announced a series of tariff increases in violation of its commitments in the World Trade Organization (WTO), undermining the very system of trade rules that the US had helped establish after World War II. The US actions led to many retaliatory responses of increased tariffs by trading partners including the European Union (EU). Over the next several months, the US engaged in a series of negotiations leading to so called ‘framework’ ag

GREEK FOREIGN TRADE AND FINANCE : The Mixed Blessings of Economic Dependence BOOK LAUNCH- ATHENS October 6, 2025 Statement by Constantine Michalopoulos Let me first thank ELIAMEP for organizing this meeting and the previous speakers for their good words and useful comments about the book. A few words about the title which caused problems for some: The book makes it clear that economic dependence in the case of Greece had little to do with the ‘dependencia’ discussion related