Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross says tariffs will be good for the American steel industry—just as they were for Mr. Ross himself during his business career. [Ted Mann, Bob Tita and Maureen Farrell | March 8, 2018 | WSJ] Profiting from such protectionist measures was a trademark of some of the biggest deals in Mr. Ross’s rise as an investor specializing…
WASHINGTON—For Peter Navarro, President Donald Trump’s trade guru, it’s been quite a turnaround. [Bob Davis | March 8, 2018 | WSJ] Last spring, he was running the White House’s Office of Trade and Manufacturing Policy, an impressive-sounding group that consisted of himself and an aide in a single room in a building across the alley…
Washington ~ The Coalition for a Prosperous America (CPA) strongly supports President Trump’s decision to ensure that America’s ability to produce steel and aluminum are sufficient for our national security. Previous U.S. government measures taken by previous presidents since Ronald Reagan were too narrow to prevent industry decline which endangers American interests. “President Trump, Secretary…
You don’t have to know David Ricardo from Ricky Ricardo to understand the problems with President Trump’s approach to fixing America’s trade woes. [ Spencer Jakab | March 5, 2018 | WSJ] But a seemingly unrelated news item on Monday shows what is being ignored in the debate over Mr. Trump’s tariffs: The U.S. trade balance may be much worse…
Gary Cohn is resigning as President Donald Trump’s top economic adviser, leaving his post as the administration prepares to impose steep tariffs on steel and aluminum that Cohn has opposed. [Justin Sink, Dakin Campbell, and Shannon Pettypiece | March 6, 2018 | Bloomberg] “It has been an honor to serve my country and enact pro-growth economic policies…
After a year-long investigation, President Trump is poised to impose stiff tariffs on foreign steel and aluminum imports into the U.S. for national security reasons. The move prompted angry responses from global trading partners, drawing warnings of an international trade war. [FRANK DOWD IV | March 5, 2018 | Charlotte Pipe] But America has been…
This culminated last week. But the war — between Peter Navarro’s economic nationalist camp and Gary Cohn’s free trader-cohort — has been roiling the White House for months. [Jonathan Swan | March 4, 2018 | Axios] It came to a head in the Oval Office in January of this year, when Cohn, Navarro, Rob Porter, Wilbur…
A possible merger of two giant makers of computer chips could revolutionize the all-important industry — which touches everything from smartphones to cars — and shift the balance of power from California to Asia. [ALAN RAPPEPORT, CECILIA KANG and CHAD BRAY | MARCH 5, 2018 | NY Times] Washington isn’t so sure that is a good idea. In a rare…
If you ask the CEO of Nucor, the largest steel producer in the United States, he’ll tell you that President Donald Trump’s plans to put tariffs on steel and aluminum imports are fair game. [Elizabeth Gurdus | March 5, 2018 | CNBC] In a Monday interview on “Mad Money,” Nucor CEO John Ferriola pushed back against arguments that the tariffs…
By Jeff Ferry, CPA Research Director The productivity figures for the US economy in 2017, published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) last month, show the US economy continuing to underperform on productivity growth, one of the most important metrics for the long-term health of the economy. The labor productivity of our non-farm business…