Trade as a Technology of Power: The R. Lighthizer Doctrine

The article analyzes the thought of Robert Lighthizer, who redefines trade not as a tool for cost optimization, but as a technology of power and security. The author points to the end of the era of naive globalization, arguing that economic interdependence with strategic rivals, such as China, has become a channel for transferring power to the adversary. A key element of the doctrine is the transition from an economy of prosperity to an economy of resilience, and restoring the priority of the producer over the consumer. Lighthizer emphasizes that deindustrialization is not only an economic loss but a social and cultural degradation. In this view, industry becomes the foundation of citizens' dignity and an essential condition for state sovereignty in the face of global crises and raw material blackmail.