BEIJING — An international tribunal in The Hague delivered a sweeping rebuke on Tuesday of China’s behavior in the South China Sea, including the construction of artificial islands, and found that its expansive claim to sovereignty over the waters had no legal basis. [Ane Perlez| July 12, 2016 | The New York Times] The tribunal also said that…
Statement of Lori Wallach, Director, Public Citizen’s Global Trade Watch The Democratic Party has repeatedly rejected requests that it support the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) — on the floor of Congress, among the base and, now, in the party platform. Both Democratic presidential candidates have clearly stated their opposition to the TPP as have the vast…
The Republican Party appears to be taking some of the bite out of Donald Trump’s fiercest trade criticism, crafting a platform closer to its traditional trade views but taking a neutral position on President Barack Obama’s signature trade achievement, the TPP. [Megan Cassella| July 12, 2016 | Politico] “It’s always better to have calm words…
In January, Thomas J. Donohue, the feisty chief executive of the United States Chamber of Commerce, noted — without naming names — that there were “loud voices” this election season who talked about walling off America from talent and trade. He called that position “morally wrong and politically stupid.” [Julie Creswell| July 11, 2016 | The New…
Barack Obama, the Anti-NAFTA Democratic Candidate, sunk in Hillary Clinton in 2008. A recent Poll shows unaffiliated voters by a 52% to 24% margin think NAFTA needs to be renegotiated and voters overall are more critical of U.S. free trade agreements than voters eight years ago. [Hugh Campbell| July 9, 2016 |OpedNews] In general, men…
Amid boos from the sidelines, allies of Hillary Clinton and President Obama on Saturday beat back an effort by the Bernie Sanders campaign to have the Democratic Party officially oppose a congressional vote on the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal. [Patrick Healy| July 9, 2016 |The New York Times] At a sometimes-raucous meeting in Orlando, Fla., of the party’s platform committee, which is drawing…
Ohio Sen. Rob Portman invoked Trump’s ubiquitous Twitter feed in signaling his approval for the Republican presidential candidate’s get-tough-on-China trade policy. The former U.S. Trade Representative has taken a defensive stance on trade, including opposition to the TPP, as he tries to retain his seat in a state not too fond of free-trade agreements. [Adam…
PRINCETON, N.J. — More than four in 10 Americans say they don’t know enough to say whether the U.S. should end its participation in free trade deals such as the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). Among Americans who do have an opinion, 28% favor withdrawing from trade treaties, and…
Many times, Congress passes important bills that are go unreported by the mainstream media. Such was the case with the Defend Trade Secrets Act of 2016 (DTSA – S. 1890), passed by the Senate and House of Representatives with near unanimous support in April and signed by President Obama on May 11, 2016. This beneficial bill…