David J. Lynch

Washington, D.C.

Financial writer covering trade and globalization

Education: Yale University, MA in international relations, 1983; Wesleyan University, BA in government, 1981

David J. Lynch joined The Washington Post in November 2017 from the Financial Times, where he covered white-collar crime. He was previously the cybersecurity editor at Politico and a senior writer with Bloomberg News, focusing on the intersection of politics and economics. Earlier, he followed the global economy for USA Today, where he was the founding bureau chief in both London and Beijing. He covered the wars in Kosovo and Iraq, the latter as an embedded reporter with the U.S. Marines, and was the paper’s first recipient of a Nieman fellowship at Harvard University. He has reported from mor
Latest from David J. Lynch

Trump threatens tariffs on BRICS nations, demanding they use dollar

The move comes after Canada’s prime minister rushed to Mar-a-Lago to dine with the president-elect to dissuade him over another big tariff threat.

November 30, 2024
Donald Trump has tried to use trade policy to address unrelated issues many times during his first term.

Trump tariff plan kicks off scramble among U.S. trading partners

Leaders in Mexico and Canada responded to the president-elect’s proposed new tariffs. Observers said the plan might just be the first step in negotiations.

November 26, 2024
Trucks enter the United States from Mexico at the Laredo Port of Entry in Laredo, Texas, in 2022. President-elect Donald Trump announced Monday night that he plans to impose a 25 percent tariff on all imports from Mexico.

Trump promises specific tariffs on China, Canada and Mexico

If enacted, they would violate the 2020 deal that the United States inked with Canada and Mexico during Donald Trump’s first term.

November 26, 2024
President Donald Trump at a signing ceremony for the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, a trade deal, at the White House in 2020.

U.S. Steel’s Japanese buyer hopes Biden — or Trump — will come around

The Nippon Steel executive leading the effort to acquire U.S. Steel is hoping to convince the interagency national security committee reviewing the deal.

November 21, 2024
A nighttime view of U.S. Steel’s Edgar Thomson Works in Braddock, Pennsylvania, on June 19, 2019.

The unconventional economic theory behind Trump’s sweeping tariff plans

Michael Pettis, a Wall Street veteran who teaches finance in Beijing, says mainstream economists are wrong about trade.

November 17, 2024
U.S. President-elect Donald Trump attends the America First Policy Institute Gala held at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida, on Thursday.

Trump victory opens door for historic tariff hikes

President-elect is readying the most extensive tariffs in nearly a century, but some of those historic levies will likely be used as bargaining chips in new trade negotiations.

November 8, 2024
Shipping containers at the Port of Los Angeles in October.

Companies ready price hikes to offset Trump’s global tariff plans

U.S. companies that rely on foreign suppliers are preparing to raise prices in response to the massive import tariffs that former president Donald Trump promises if he wins.

October 30, 2024
Bicycles produced in China lined up for sale in a Target store in Los Angeles in May 2019. Prices on many goods imported from China, including bicycles, could rise.

Treasury finalizes prohibitions on U.S. investment in Chinese tech

The limits on U.S. investors’ ability to fund projects that could aid China’s military take effect on Jan. 2.

October 28, 2024
Visitors attend a technology expo in Beijing in June 2023.

Sullivan defends Biden’s break with past on global economic policies

National security adviser Jake Sullivan defended the president’s economic strategy against criticism that it represents a break with decades of trade and investment liberalization.

October 23, 2024
National security adviser Jake Sullivan briefs journalists at the White House on Oct. 1. (Tom Brenner for The Washington Post)

Global fight against historic inflation surge is nearly over, says IMF

Policymakers in the U.S. and other major economies have quelled the worst inflation in four decades without tumbling into recession, the International Monetary Fund said Tuesday.

October 22, 2024
Signs displayed at the annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank in Washington on Monday.