Trading with the enemy: narrative, identity and US trade politics

Most scholars contend that ‘inside’ lobbying such as corporate money, campaign contributions and interest group ties to Congress shape trade policy outcomes. Some scholars also claim that ‘outside’ lobbying such as appealing to the US public through media and advertising campaigns is also critical especially for free trade success. Yet, little crossover exists between the trade literature on lobbying and the emerging IR foreign policy literature on narratives and how policy-maker ‘stories’ impact outcomes. This article helps rectify this gap by demonstrating how US pro-trade public lobbying campaigns rely on national identity narratives to successfully appease and appeal to the public and thus facilitate passage in Congress even when partner countries are negatively perceived. The article examines two cases of US trade liberalization campaigns with China and Russia to analyze how the negative domestic perception of the two potential partner countries impacted pro-trade narratives and shaped ‘outside’ lobbying strategies. Drawing on recent foreign policy literature on narratives and national identity, this article demonstrates how domestic actors rely on existing country images – even when negative – to emotionally empower trade policy arguments and ironically glean legislative success.