Date: Thursday 19 February 2026
Time: 17:00 - 18:30
Location: Neill Lecture Theatre, Trinity Long Room Hub, Trinity College Dublin
To register your attendance please click here.
Professor Kevin O’Rourke will give the Alice Murray Distinguished Scholar Lecture titled ‘From most-favoured-nation to reciprocal tariffs: what is unsurprising about Trump’s tariffs, what is surprising, and why it matters’.
Abstract: Commentary on recent US tariff increases has largely focussed on the height of the duties involved, but in a historical context what is more striking is their discriminatory nature. The lecture will argue that the American move away from free trade is not so surprising, when viewed in a historical context, but that the US abandonment of the non-discrimination principles it traditionally championed is much more so. The reasons why the United States initially embraced the MFN principle will be revisited, since that historical experience has something to teach us today.
The Alice Murray Distinguished Scholar Award is awarded annually by the Centre for Economics, Policy and History (CEPH) to an economic historian who has made a major contribution to the discipline. The recipient is invited to give the Alice Murray Distinguished Scholar Lecture, where the medal will be formally presented. The Centre for Economics, Policy and Research is an all-Ireland research centre which combines Trinity College Dublin and Queen’s University Belfast.
For further information on this lecture please click here to visit the Centre for Economics, Policy and History (CEPH) website.
For further information please email CEPH@tcd.ie