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“Mash Up and Buy Back”: Professor Robinson Warns of Risks in US Global Trade Reset Strategy
A leading Caribbean economist has cautioned that efforts by the United States to reset the global trading system could trigger economic instability on a global scale if mismanaged.
Delivering the feature address at the 26th Annual SALISES Conference at the University of the West Indies Five Islands Campus, Professor Justin Robinson warned that the current US strategy—outlined in a policy paper by economist Steven Miran—relies on a “narrow path” that demands perfect coordination across trade, monetary policy, and international diplomacy.
“This is a high-stakes gamble,” said Robinson.
“You’re trying to surgically disrupt a system you rely on without collapsing it. If it fails, you risk destroying the very global order you’re seeking to rebalance.”
Miran’s framework, titled A User’s Guide to Resetting the Global Trading System, proposes a series of aggressive economic tools, including sweeping tariffs, currency realignments, and debt restructuring.
The goal, Robinson explained, is to weaken the US dollar to restore manufacturing jobs and reduce America’s reliance on foreign imports.
But Robinson argued that the strategy is riddled with risks.
He said the heavy-handed use of tariffs may provoke retaliation, while moves to restructure US debt—such as converting short-term Treasury bills into century bonds or perpetuals—could undermine investor confidence.
“In the financial world, this is considered a technical default,” Robinson noted.
“It sends the signal that the United States may no longer be committed to honouring its debt in conventional terms.”
He also expressed concern that unilateral action by the US could further erode trust in multilateral institutions like the World Trade Organization—platforms that small states rely on to secure fair outcomes.
“For small economies like ours, multilateralism is our only shield,” Robinson said.
“If the system collapses, we are left to fend for ourselves against vastly more powerful actors.”
The phrase “mash up and buy back,” borrowed from Barbadian poet and cultural commentator Winston “Gabby” Scott, was used by Robinson to summarise the potential fallout of the US approach: the destruction of the existing global economic framework, only to attempt to rebuild it later at significant cost.
Despite acknowledging the US’s significant leverage—its vast consumer market, military dominance, and global influence—Robinson questioned whether the political will and technical precision required to execute the plan exist.
“This narrow path assumes Americans will tolerate higher prices, that Congress will cooperate, and that markets will remain calm.
That’s a lot of ifs,” he said.
Robinson closed by urging policymakers in the Caribbean to monitor developments closely and prepare for external shocks that could arise from ongoing disruptions to the global trading system.
“The rules-based order as we know it is being rewritten,” he said. “We must ensure that we are not merely spectators, but prepared participants in what comes next.”
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So basically, they mash it up, buy it cheap, then act like heroes. Classic.
The Caribbean need to stop getting caught in these big-country chess games.
What is Browne Plan B for this mess???
I respect Professor Robinson, but sometimes I feel like we panic too early.