ADVOCATES OF PARTICULAR issues sometimes have to be reminded that presidential elections have consequences. One of the lessons people should learn this year is that so do primaries. [Barney Frank| June 20, 2016 |Boston Globe] If voters deliver a clear enough message in the nominating process, it can determine public policy outcomes even before those nominated…
Regardless of who wins the presidential election in November, the 2016 campaign has already dramatically undermined a major pillar of post–World War II American economic and foreign policy—free trade. [Clyde Prestowitz| June 17, 2016 |Washington Monthly] Hillary Clinton’s current rejection of the same Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) free trade agreement that earlier she had called “the…
This week kicked off with U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman announcing today (June 20) at the Council on Foreign Relations that the Obama administration is engaged in drafting the implementing bill of the Trans-Pacific Partnership and the other required elements of a legislative package, which Congress could vote on when a “window of opportunity” opens…
Carrier Corp.’s decision to shutter its manufacturing operation on Indianapolis’ west side will cause a domino effect that will wipe out more than 2,700 jobs across Indiana and cost the state’s economy more than $100 million a year, experts say. [Kris Turner| June 17, 2016 |Indy Star] Carrier plans to eliminate 1,400 low- to midgrade manufacturing…
I recently attended a talk given by the Obama administration’s lead trade negotiator, Mike Froman, who was asked: “Why are Americans so angry about globalization right now?” His answer was one I’d heard many times, but of which I’ve often been skeptical. In so many words, he argued that the costs of trade are acute,…
The leadership of the House Agriculture Committee and the chairman of the House Appropriations Agriculture Subcommittee have urged their colleagues to oppose the transfer of catfish inspection from USDA to the Food and Drug Administration, which they charged at a minimum involves the misuse of the Congressional Review Act (CRA) and would fail to protect…
It’s “the least boring piece of news related to the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) in ages,”according to one campaigner. [Deirdre Fulton| June 15, 2016 |Common Dreams] Celebrities including Rage Against the Machine guitarist Tom Morello, punk band Anti-Flag, and Lost actress Evangeline Lilly are mobilizing against the 12-nation, corporate-friendly deal—which has been exposed by multiple analyses as threatening the climate, labor protections, access to medicine, and…
American made athletic footwear just got a potential big boost from the Department of Defense. [Zameena Mejia| June 15, 2016 |Footwear News] The U.S. Senate on June 14 passed a Department of Defense bill that requires the Pentagon to purchase American-made athletic shoes for military recruits. This would subject athletic footwear to the Berry Amendment, originally…
The House Ways & Means Trade Subcommittee this week launched the “first in a series of hearings about how U.S. trade policies affect specific sectors of the economy,” according to an email by press secretary Lauren Blair Aronson, leading off with the agriculture sector. [Daily News| June 15, 2016 |Inside US Trade] The June 14…
U.S. Under Secretary of State Catherine Novelli met senior Cambodian leaders in Phnom Penh last Friday during a three-day visit to the country, discussing a range of issues including deforestation, the investment climate, energy and technology. [Phorn Bopha| June 13, 2016 |Voa News] Novelli also raised the possibility that Cambodia could join the Trans-Pacific Partnership…