DES MOINES — A Chinese citizen has entered a plea agreement with United States prosecutors, admitting that he participated in a conspiracy to steal seed corn from American companies. [AP| January, 28 2016 | The New York Times] Mo Hailong, a permanent resident of the United States, was living in Florida when he was…

Free trade theory is being challenged at its core within the academic community. The upcoming US International Trade Commission study of the Trans-Pacific Partnership is at the vortex. This NY Times article today, “So What Would It Mean to Beat China on Trade“, focuses upon the academic paper I blogged about yesterday – the one…

A FEW days ago, I visited the shiny headquarters of the Peterson Institute for International Economics on “think tank row” in Washington — basically, the locker room of the Team Globalization and Free Trade cheering squad. [Steve Rattner| January, 27 2016 | The New York Times] I was there to take part in a discussion…

In the world of inter-governmental trade agreements, the signing often gets the most attention. But it is the ratification by member states, required to make such agreements reality, that may be the most difficult part of the process. [Chuck Chiang| January, 24 2016 | The Vancouver Sun] An agreement as large as the 12-member Trans-Pacific…

  A pro-trade group that wants Congress to approve the 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership released a study Tuesday forecasting large income gains — but also acknowledging hundreds of thousands of job losses in some sectors. [Brendan Kirby| January, 27 2016 | PoliZette] The study by the Peterson Institute for International Economics euphemistically refers to job losses…

Establishment economists will defend to the death the idea that trade does not destroy jobs. Yes, I’m serious. They believe that. Really. Instead, they say, job losers move into other jobs so there is no net job loss.  They also assume that trade deals cause no change in the balance of trade. This matters because…

President Obama’s top 2016 legislative priority is passage of his legacy-building “free-trade” deal, the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). But the American public is highly skeptical of TPP and its alleged beneficial economic effects. [Kevin Kearns| January, 26 2016 | Polizette] The public has it right. The problems with the deal are legion. Here are a few…

Slow growth is often blamed for the dearth of good paying jobs and the administration’s inability to stem the decline in average family incomes. [Peter Morici| January, 26 2016 | The Hill] The six-year expansion has averaged 2.2 percent annual economic growth and added 188,000 jobs per month. Coming off a similar bout with double-digit…

New Zealand Trade Minister Todd McClay on Jan. 21 local time announced that his government has issued invitations to ministers from all Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) countries for a Feb. 4 signing ceremony in Auckland, New Zealand. U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman will participate in the signing, according to a USTR spokesman. [Daily News| January, 25 2016 |…