Chan, DavidMcquaid, Alexander Leon Peter2019-10-012019-10-012019-09-19http://hdl.handle.net/1880/111112From 1970 to 2011 the United States underwent a 20% increase in trade as a percentage of GDP. International trade growth has complicated the accurate estimation of cumulative environmental effects while necessitating increased political entanglement. The current US-China trade war illustrates this complexity. Current trade talks include, but are not limited to ‘decoupling’ the two nations and the ‘reshoring’ of US manufacturing. If decoupling were to occur the United States would also be reshoring the energy demands and the ecological impacts of greater goods production. This paper evaluates this possible shift in terms of its impact on environmental and energy policy. It considers the causes for economic and political entanglement during this period, and the need for policy adjustments. To this end, this paper ultimately argues that the United States government ought to fund global multi-regional input-output (MRIO) studies in order to better inform environmental and energy policy.enUniversity of Calgary graduate students retain copyright ownership and moral rights for their thesis. You may use this material in any way that is permitted by the Copyright Act or through licensing that has been assigned to the document. For uses that are not allowable under copyright legislation or licensing, you are required to seek permission.report10.11575/PRISM/37172