The Republican Party has split anew on one of its core tenets—free trade—and the question is how long the war will last. [Reposted from the National Journal | December 15, 2015] While the GOP has largely supported free trade for over three decades, its top-tier presidential candidates are split on the recently-struck Pacific trade accord, the most…
Last week, in light of the completion of the negotiations for the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP), we examined the results of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and found that the cumulative balance of trade for all agriculture for the 1997-2014 period was -$9.6 billion. Though NAFTA was supposed to open up markets…
With a vote on a controversial free trade deal looking increasingly unlikely before the 2016 presidential election, critics warn that congressional leaders may try to push it through after the election but before new leaders take office. [ by Brendan Kirby | December 14, 2015 | Polizette] A vote on the Trans-Pacific Partnership in the so-called lame…
In October, President Obama hailed the proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) as “the most progressive trade deal in history.” [ by David Moberg | December 16, 2015 | In These Times] But progressive public-interest organizations say that the final text, the fruit of seven years of secretive trade talks between the United States and 11…
A Value Added Tax (VAT) is a tax on value added all throughout the supply chain as products are brought to market. In practice it is used as a tariff on imports. [ by Frank Shannon | December 16, 2015 | Mesquite Local News ] The U.S. has pursued trade agreements that multilaterally…
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Speaker Paul Ryan on Tuesday said that he wants to take a vote as soon as possible on an expansive Pacific Rim trade agreement if the pact proves beneficial for the United States. [ by Vicki Needham | December 15, 2015 | The Hill ] The Wisconsin Republican said during a Politico Playbook event…
Billings, Mont. – In what R-CALF USA CEO Bill Bullard acknowledges is a Hail Mary effort to preserve mandatory country-of-origin labeling (COOL), today the group overnighted letters to Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton, the current frontrunners in the 2016 presidential race. The letters seek the candidates help in defending mandatory COOL “to make the United…
China’s indication Friday it will loosen its long-time peg to the dollar and instead target a basket of currencies on the eve of an expected U.S. Federal Reserve rate increase is likely no coincidence. [ by Ian Talley | December 11, 2015 | Wall Street Journal ] The Fed’s anticipated move next week and…
Rep. Dave Reichert (R-WA), the chairman of the House Ways & Means trade subcommittee, warned Thursday (Dec. 3) that securing congressional passage of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement will be more difficult than the winning approval of the fast-track bill in June, in part because at the moment roughly 15 House Republicans who voted…
