The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) will create the most powerful and lucrative trading bloc since the inception of the European Union. Or maybe not. To paraphrase Donald Rumsfeld, we should worry about the unknown unknowns, an awkward phrase that says a lot about blindly tap dancing across political mine fields. The TPP most likely will…
For Immediate Release, October 21, 2015 Haley Graves, (202) 225-2171 Opening Statement: Chairman K. Michael Conaway Committee on Agriculture Hearing: Foreign Subsidies: Jeopardizing Free Trade and Harming American Farmers Remarks as prepared for delivery: The purpose of today’s hearing is to examine high and rising foreign subsidies, tariffs, and other barriers to trade and…
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has found himself at the center of a pitched battle over the reauthorization of the federal Export-Import Bank. [Reposted from The Hill | Kevin Cirilli | October 22, 2015] Supporters of the besieged bank enraged conservatives earlier this month by deploying a rarely used legislative tactic to force a vote…
Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-VA) said Wednesday (Oct. 21) that he plans to drive home the message to the Obama administration that it must bring a Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) implementing bill to a congressional vote within the first two or three months of 2016 or risk delaying the vote until the lame-duck session after the…
The American Iron and Steel Institute had strong words for a Treasury Department report that said China is not a currency manipulator and, while US construction-in-place values fell for the month, they are still well ahead of 2014’s pace. [by Jeff Yoders | October 20, 2015 | MetalMiner] The Obama Administration’s announced yesterday, in…
The House of Representatives must soon choose a new speaker, and some are pushing Paul Ryan as the “smart” choice. [Reposted from WND | Curtis Ellis | October 16, 2015] Let’s consider what a Ryan speakership would look like. John Boehner was detested because he ran the House of Representatives in an authoritarian style. Confronted…
One of the fastest-growing U.S. exports right now is air. Shipments of empty containers out of the U.S. are surging this year, highlighting the impact the economic slowdown in China is having on U.S. exporters. The U.S. imports more from China than it sends back, but certain American industries—including those that supply scrap metal and…
President Obama will meet on Wednesday (Oct. 21) evening with House and Senate Democrats who support his trade agenda, which comes as the administration has continued briefings and outreach to Congress regarding the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) deal reached on Oct. 5 but still not provided an updated text reflecting the outcome. [Reposted from Inside US…
Washington, D.C. – The U.S. Department of Treasury released its semi-annual Report to Congress on International Economic and Exchange Rate Policies Monday. This was the 14th opportunity under the Obama administration for Treasury to name China a currency manipulator – an opportunity it passed on by not citing the country after its egregious devaluation of…
President Barack Obama’s signature trade deal – the Trans-Pacific Partnership – may not get taken up by the GOP-run Congress until after the 2016 elections, senior Republican and Democratic aides said Wednesday. [Reposted from Politico | Anna Palmer and John Bresnahan | Ocotber 14th, 2015] Mike Sommers, chief of staff for Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio),…