The KU Trade War Lab (TWL) supports funded research, offers student research training, facilitates exchange with other academic centers, and enables campus outreach on the politics of trade and conflict. We emphasize a collaborative, multi-method approach to research that combines qualitative and quantitative perspectives. We are a social science lab dedicated to dual mission: 

1) What we do: Understand the US-China Trade War and its impact on heartland communities through a bottom-up, data-driven, firm-centric approach.

2) How we do it: Empower policy-relevant academic research by teams of undergraduate and graduate students through collaboration and mentoring. 
Heartland states like Kansas and Missouri are among the hardest hit by escalating tariffs since 2018. The TWL draws on the unique geographical and institutional resources of KU such as the PI’s relationships with the Kansas City Chamber of Commerce and World Trade Center-KC to better understand the impact of tariffs from the bottom up. The lab's research has been featured in numerous media outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, Washington Post, NPR, Reuters, Foreign Policy, Forbes, SCMPS, Straits Times, Nikkei Asia, KSHB 41, and Arirang TV. 

The KU TWL is generously supported by the Minerva Research Initiative, the Wilson Center, the Charles Koch Foundation, the Mercatus Center, the Institute for Humane Studies, the KU General Research Fund, the KU Center for Teaching Excellence, and the KU Research Excellence Initiative. 

The Trade War Lab

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The Trade War Lab

Org chart

Teams

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