Strategic Decoupling: The Doctrine of Robert Lighthizer

The text analyzes Robert Lighthizer's concept of strategic decoupling, contrasting it with free trade dogmas. The author discusses six main objections to this doctrine: high costs for consumers, a decline in innovation efficiency, the risk of trade retaliation, obstacles to global climate cooperation, the threat of rent-seeking, and theoretical aspects of the trade deficit. The central thesis is the belief that while economic resilience generates costs and requires selectivity, the opportunity cost of total dependence on a strategic rival is significantly higher. Decoupling should not be total but segmented, resembling precision surgery rather than an abrupt severance of ties, aimed at protecting the state's material sovereignty without paralyzing its economy.