The Big 3
The Big 3 with CPA economists Mihir Torsekar and Andrew Rechenberg breaks down the three biggest stories shaping U.S. trade, industrial policy, and the American economy each week.
From tariffs, China, and supply chains to inflation, manufacturing, and economic security, Mihir and Andrew cut through the noise with sharp analysis to explain what’s really happening—and who it benefits. Focused on what matters for American workers and producers, The Big 3 connects the headlines to the deeper forces reshaping the U.S. economy—and what that means for the future of U.S. competitiveness.
Episodes
9 episodes
China’s Massive Port Network – Why the U.S. Should Be Concerned
China’s growing influence in Latin America extends well beyond trade. According to CSIS Associate Fellow Henry Ziemer, Beijing has spent years building an interconnected maritime network th...
China's Metal Empire and the Fight for Industrial Power
This week on The Big 3, CPA economists Mihir Torsekar and Andrew Rechenberg sit down with Ben Carlson of SAFE’s Center for Strategic Industrial Materials to examine China’s growing dominance in steel, aluminum, and copper—and what it mea...
The Chinese "Electrostate" Behind EVs, Batteries, and Solar
This week’s episode of The Big 3 features special guest Rogan Quinn of Rhodium Group, author of
Coalition for New Trade's Beth Baltzan Discusses Rebuilding American Resilience
This week’s episode of The Big 3 welcomes Beth Baltzan, former senior advisor to U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai during the Biden Administration and now deputy director of the Coalition for New Trade, for a wide-ranging discussion on ho...
New CPA Economics Report Warns of Foreign Control Over U.S. Antibiotic Supply
This week’s episode of The Big 3 focused on CPA’s new report on the foreign control of America’s antibiotic supply chain and the collapse of the domestic production base that once supported it. CPA economists Mihir Torsekar and Andrew Rechenber...
The Tariff Debate — Affordability, Jobs, & the Case for Domestic Production
This week’s episode of The Big 3 used CPA senior economist Mihir Torsekar’s recent Ohio State debate on whether tariffs are “just” as a springboard to examine three core arguments in the trade debate: affordability, employment, and production.<...
Overcapacity, Forced Labor, and China's PNTR Reckoning
This week’s episode of The Big 3 with CPA economists Mihir Torsekar and Andrew Rechenberg centered on three major trade investigations that go to the heart of CPA’s industrial policy agenda: global overcapacity, forced labor, and revoking China...
Metals, Medicine, and "Liberation Day" One Year Later
On this week’s episode of The Big 3, CPA economists Mihir Torsekar and Andrew Rechenberg focused on a new metals proclamation, a pharmaceutical proclamation, and the one-year anniversary of President Trump's Liberation Day tariffs. The team exp...
Wartime Footing: How the United States Can Reverse China's Dominance of Battery Minerals Processing
THIS WEEK'S EPISODE OF "THE BIG 3" focused on the national security risks of America’s dependence on China for critical minerals processing, especially in the lead-acid battery supply chain.CPA senior economists Mihir Torsekar an...