It’s hard to resist a good challenge and the Washington Post gave us one this morning in a veditorial pushing the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). The editorial criticized TPP opponents and praised President Obama for continuing to push the deal. It tells readers: [Dean Baker| August 4, 2016 |Beat the Press] “Mr. Obama refused to back…
COEUR D’ALENE, ID — The Office of the United States Trade Representative’s chief agriculture negotiator Darci Vetter said here Aug. 2 that the Trans-Pacific Partnership implementing bill will largely consist of language to implement tariff cuts, and that Congress could pass it in as few as 10 days in a lame-duck session if there is…
A report by the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission released Aug. 1 openly questions whether a bilateral investment treaty will create jobs in the U.S. or cause more jobs and production to be outsourced to China, which would follow the precedent set by the U.S. granting China Permanent Normal Trade Relations status in 2000 resulting in…
President Obama vilified Donald Trump’s lifelong behavior of leaving people with the feeling of being cheated. President Obama, what about your signing TPP into law after passage during the lame-duck session? Candidates Clinton, Trump and Stein all oppose TPP versus Johnson who recently flipped to favor TPP. [Hugh J. Campbell| August 1, 2016 |United Steel…
Hillary Clinton faces an election that has come to revolve around the legitimacy of a political establishment that she epitomizes. And no issue has fueled that challenge – in the US and Europe alike – more powerfully than international trade. [Simon Tilford| July 29, 2016 |Project Indicate] LONDON – According to conventional economic wisdom, free…
Democrats ripped President Barack Obama’s Asia Pacific trade deal in Philadelphia this week, much as Republicans had the week before in Cleveland. But despite the boisterous politics and candidates’ dead-on-arrival declarations, business groups have launched a well-funded, national effort to lobby their way to TPP approval. [Megan Cassella| August 1, 2016 |Politico] Caterpillar Inc. hosted…
PHILADELPHIA — U.S. Rep. Ron Kind faced a row of TV cameras, surrounded by a small band of fellow Democratic rebels resolved to make their voices heard. [Mark Sommerhauser| July 27, 2016 |Journal Times] Kind, D-La Crosse, had just finished addressing Wisconsin delegates Wednesday morning at the Democratic National Convention. Kind started speaking to reporters…
Let’s start the debate about trade policy on the right foot. Everyone I know is “for” trade. A better question is, “Who gets the gains from trade?” [Stan Sorscher| July 29, 2016 |Huffington Post] Gains from anything, trade included, can be divided in 3 ways. Someone might give you your share of gains, for whatever…
Trade-supportive Democratic Sen. Chris Coons said the next administration will have to work hard to shore up relations in the Asia-Pacific region because there appears to be little chance of passing the TPP this year. [Adam Behsudi | July 29, 2016 |Politico] “I’ll take your presumption that TPP is dead for the rest of this Congress and this…
Red, white and blue balloons flooded the Wells Fargo Center following a speech in which Hillary Clinton simultaneously hit Donald Trump while presenting a vision for stabilizing the U.S. economy and middle class. [Adam Behsudi | July 29, 2016 |Politico] “If you believe that we should say no to unfair trade deals, that we should…
