President Obama will hit the road next week to push his trade agenda during a visit to Nike’s headquarters in Beaverton, Ore. [Reposted from The Hill | Jordan Fabian | April 30, 2015] Obama will urge Congress to pass a trade promotion authority (TPA) bill, an important step in finalizing a sweeping trade agreement with…
For many liberal critics, the problem with the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal isn’t simply the worry that it could lead to more job loss by exposing American manufacturing to more import competition. Rather, they assert that the TPP is in many ways not even a trade agreement: Its real offense is in the areas of…
The House is currently dozens of votes short of being able to pass legislation that would allow President Barack Obama to send trade deals to Congress for fast approval, according to senior lawmakers and aides in both parties, imperiling a top White House priority for the president’s final years in office. [Reposted from Politico | …
Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) on Tuesday (April 28) said he and many other Democrats want to see the three trade bills that passed out of the Finance Committee along with legislation to reauthorize fast-track move together on the floor, but that he is not clear that this is the majority’s plan. [Reposted from Inside US…
The trade deficit caused first quarter US GDP growth to be basically zero – specifically 0.2%. Exports were down 7.2% while imports were up 1.8%. The Bureau of Economic Analysis news release says: The increase in real GDP in the first quarter primarily reflected positive contributions from personal consumption expenditures (PCE) and private inventory investment…
John Hansen is president of the Nebraska Farmers Union and served as a U.S. Trade Representative trade adviser for three administrations for 14 years starting in 1994. He also sits on the Board of the Coalition for a Prosperous America. Reposted from the Omaha Daily Herald | John Hansen | April 29, 2015] The House…
Finally, public debate around the Trans-Pacific Partnership has moved beyond the question of being for or against trade. We’re now for it. The real question is what kind of trade policy will express our values as a country? [Reposted from The Seattle Times | Stan Sorscher | April 16, 2015] Former Govs. Chris Gregoire and…
Eamonn Fingleton thinks any Japanese TPP commitments will be seen as optional, based upon past performance. [by Eamonn Fingleton | April 26, 2015| Forbes] In reality, of course, the TPP deserves to be assessed on its own merits, not on how effectively Abe assuages resentments about Japan’s imperial past. The reality is that the…
In a March 2015 speech, former Nobel Prize winning economist Joseph Stiglitz says that trade agreements, on net, have destroyed jobs. He says that economists increasingly agree that exports create jobs and imports destroy jobs. The question is what NET result, which of course has been negative. Export opportunities are fine if you can access…
Imports surged in first quarter, depressing GDP growth. Bloomberg reports that exports are tepid in relation to imports, especially after the West Coast port labor dispute ended. The chart above is stark. Congressmen that represent districts with port cities often say – “we need free trade agreements to keep our ports busy.” And, they may…
