President Obama and Paul Ryan have a hard time making the point that the Trans Pacific Partnership will benefit the US economy, so they are shifting to a “China will write the rules if we don’t” argument. In his weekend address, Obama said: “If America doesn’t shape the rules of the global economy today,…

Transatlantic trade talks continue but controversial investor-state dispute settlement has been pushed aside until the summer [Reposted from Politico  |  Hans Von Der Burchard  |  April 20, 2015] But the European Commission’s plan to deal with one of the thorniest issues on the table — how to agree on a reform of an international tangle of…

“It contains a misleading impression, not a lie. It was being economical with the truth.” Robert Armstrong The Ways and Means Committee blog promotes Fast Track passage and sometimes “stretches the truth”.  One can, of course, just tell enough of the truth to leave a misleading impression. A recent Ways and Means blog post on…

  NEW YORK — In late 2013, Cisco chief executive John Chambers used a portentous phrase while telling analysts that sales in emerging markets were spiraling downward, forcing the networking equipment company to cut its three- to five-year revenue growth target: “We’re the canary in the coal mine.” [Jeffrey Rothfeder | April 25, 2015 |…

President Obama went after Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s opposition to the Trans-Pacific Partnership. Now Senators Brown and Warren have written Obama a letter saying “If it’s so good, let everyone see it.” He told reporters that critics are spreading misinformation, that the deal is not secret (ha, ha), and that Elizabeth Warren is wrong.  Here is…

  Regarding your editorial “Trade Poison Pill” (April 22) which criticizes any enforceable actions against other countries manipulating their currency to distort trade: My top priority is to find new ways to strengthen our economy and create more good-paying jobs for Ohio workers. [by Senator Rob Portman | April 23, 2015 |WSJ Opinion] I agree…

  WASHINGTON — House and Senate committees this week easily agreed to give President Obama fast-track authority to negotiate a sweeping trade accord with Pacific nations, but the package of bills intended to speed completion of the deal also imposes difficult burdens on its negotiators. [by Jonathan Weisman | April 23, 2015 | NY Times]…

The outspoken businessman, who is known to start brawls on Twitter, sent out a series of tweets explaining his opposition. “The Trans-Pacific Partnership is an attack on America’s business. It does not stop Japan’s currency manipulation. This is a bad deal,” he said. [by Alanna Petroff | April 23, 2015 | CNN Money] The U.S.…

  MSNBC host Ed Schultz excoriated President Barack Obama during his program Thursday evening, blasting the president over a joke he made about the opposition to the Trans-Pacific Partnership from some of the liberal cable network’s hosts. [by Oliver Darcy | April 23, 2015 | The Blaze] “If you were watching MSNBC and all this…

Ways & Means Committee approved the Fast Track trade authority bill on a near party line vote.  25-13.  All Republicans on the committee plus two Democrats (Kind and Blumenauer) voted for the bill. Ranking Member Sander Levin offered a substitute trade authority bill that would have replaced aspirational, unenforceable trade negotiation objectives with mandatory negotiating…