by Charles Blum, CPA Government Relations Director and President of IAS Group [How is Japan drastically devaluing the yen without direct central bank intervention? Given the results of mercantilist Abenomics, how can US trade negotiators involved in the Trans Pacific Partnership talks persist in the belief that Japan is a substantial potential market for US…
The Sept. 7 Labor Day holiday marked the end of the summer and the beginning of the fall work period in Washington, meaning Congress is back in town with a busy agenda that may leave little room for passing the pending customs bill and poses obstacles for reauthorization of the Export-Import Bank. [Reposted from Inside…
Earlier manufacturing cutbacks create delays, add to price tag as construction rebounds [Reposted from the Wall Street Journal | Robbie Whelan | September 8, 2015] A shortage of glass is taking a toll on the nation’s commercial building boom, adding millions of dollars to the cost of new skyscrapers and halting some projects midway through…
The U.S. Department of Commerce (“DOC”) has launched an investigation into the alleged illegal dumping of certain hot-rolled steel flat products by seven countries into the American market. Hot-rolled steel is used in appliances, automotive products, heavy machinery, machine parts, commercial construction and transportation equipment. The U.S. Department of Commerce (“DOC”) has launched an investigation…
When John Pierpont Morgan bought Andrew Carnegie’s steel business and combined it with two competitors to create U.S. Steel in 1901, the result was the world’s first billion-dollar corporation. Its roughly $1.4 billion market value would translate into about $33 billion in current dollars. But the company is worth less than a tenth of that today, at…
by Michael Stumo One of the biggest fibs told by trade deal supporters has been that the deals enhance good governance and the rule of law. There is zero support for that proposition. There is rampant corruption, collusion with drug lords, human rights abuses and other egregious violations in many countries we have bilateral trade…
WASHINGTON—The White House is preparing a menu of sanctions against Chinese state-owned enterprises and private companies that officials believe benefited from the cybertheft of U.S. corporate secrets, several people familiar with the matter said. [ by Damian Paletta and Bob Davis | August 31, 2015 | WSJ ] The White House hasn’t decided definitively…
The Department of Labor reported this morning that America’s manufacturing sector lost 17,000 jobs in August. [Reposted from the Alliance for American Manufacturing website | Taylor Garland | September 4, 2015] The #AAMeter, which tracks President Obama’s promise to create 1 million new manufacturing jobs in his second term, decreased to +382,000 jobs, after revisions…
Five Chinese navy ships are currently operating in the Bering Sea off the coast of Alaska, Pentagon officials said Wednesday, marking the first time the U.S. military has seen Chinese naval activity in the area. [ by Jeremy Page in Beijing and Gordon Lupold in Washington | September 2, 2015 | WSJ ] The…
The Labor Department reported the economy added a disappointing 173,000 jobs in August. The unemployment rate fell to 5.1 percent largely because fewer Americans sought work. GDP grew at a 3.7 percent annual rate in the second quarter. The balance of this year and next, the pace is expected to moderate to 2.6 to…