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Edited by: James Desio and Carter Hutchinson

Happy Thursday! In today’s newsletter, we examine the trade relationship between the US and the European Union, administrative bloat at four-year colleges, and China Coast Guard incursions around the Kinmen Islands.

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1. Abandoning Ukraine Hurts American Prosperity

Topline: Supporting Ukraine is in the direct economic interest of the United States, writes AEI’s Michael Strain. Trade between the United States and the European Union represents around one-third of global economic output and 30 percent of global trade. Strain concludes that the economic well-being of the United States is tied directly to global security—and containing Vladimir Putin’s revanchist regime.

By the Numbers:

• The EU or the US is the largest trade and investment partner of nearly every other country in the world.
• The number of jobs supported by economic integration is larger than the number of people who live in Switzerland or Virginia.
• EU companies invested €2.7 trillion in the United States in 2022.

“The United States would hurt Ukraine if we advance a resolution that is highly unfavorable to Ukraine. The United States would also hurt ourselves—our businesses, our households, our workers, our citizens. Nothing that happened in the Oval Office changes the fundamental fact that the economic and security interests of the United States require containing Mr. Putin’s territorial ambitions. History would judge President Trump harshly if he abandons Ukraine—remembering him as a president who helped unleash war abroad and who reduced the long-term prosperity of the American people." —Michael Strain

2. Most College Employees Do Not Teach

Topline: Recent actions to curb administrative bloat show Trump-appointed officials take concerns about runaway college bureaucracy seriously, finds AEI's Preston Cooper. He analyzes four-year university staff rosters, finding that most college employees do not teach.

Staff Surplus: On average, public four-year institutions have 145 full-time-equivalent (FTE) noninstructional staff for every 1,000 FTE students. Private nonprofit schools have 173 noninstructional staff per 1,000 students.

Admin Excess: At public institutions, about 70 full-time-equivalent staff per 1,000 students serve in administrative roles. Private institutions exceed this ratio with 91 administrative staff per 1,000 students.

“Not every ‘administrator’ has a pointless job. But the excessive staff-student ratios at America’s elite public and private colleges ought to inspire a discussion about improving universities’ efficiency. With new policies to curb administrative bloat at the federal and state levels, perhaps the time for that discussion has come.” —Preston Cooper

3. Chinese Incursions in Taiwan

Topline: Four China Coast Guard (CCG) ships entered the restricted waters around Taiwan’s Kinmen Islands on February 20 and 25 as part of China’s effort to normalize coast guard incursions. AEI and the Institute for the Study of War’s Coalition Defense of Taiwan project have tracked the 60 CCG incursions into these restricted waters since February 2024.

Incursion Information: Kinmen is a group of Taiwan-controlled islands with a large military garrison roughly three kilometers from the coast of the PRC. Taiwan designates “prohibited” and “restricted” waters around Kinmen, which it treats as equivalent to territorial waters and a contiguous zone. The CCG has normalized three to four patrols into Kinmen’s restricted waters per month in the last six months.

What’s the Plan? These incursions resemble a rehearsal to choreograph the initial actions for a blockade to isolate Kinmen. The CCG also gains knowledge of the Taiwanese Coast Guard’s response patterns and resources. The CCG is trying to desensitize Taiwan to such intrusions, which could help cultivate surprise in a real blockade scenario.

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